Wind

A deserted farm in Kansas, following the dust storm that caused severe wind erosion. (Abandoned house, Haskell County, Kansas. Photo by Irving Rusinow. April 1941. Photo courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/ picturing_the_century/ greatdep/ greatdep_img46.html)

Wind is another force that shapes the earth's surface. Think back to the dust storm description and photos from lesson 4. The wind blew away much of the nutrient-rich soil of the Midwest. Kansas is one area that suffered from the effects of the disaster. This photo of a Kansas farm was taken in 1941. The picture shows the desolation that a combination of factors, including wind, caused in the area. It took thousands of years to create the soil that covered the midwestern US, but within a few short years wind erosion had severely depleted the soil.

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