Comment: 20:49 - 21:42 (00:53)
Source: Annenberg/CPB Resources - Earth Revealed - 22. Wind, Dust and Deserts
Keywords: desertification, desert, "United States", "Great Plains", "ecological balance", rainfall, plant, agriculture, grazing, soil, drought, "dust bowl", "soil conservation"
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Our transcription: In the United States the most dramatic example of desertification occurred on the Great Plains.
There had always been a very delicate ecological balance in this region between the very slight rainfall and the fragile plant life.
When ranchers starting overgrazing the land and farmers began overworking the soil, the situation became extremely dangerous.
All it took was the great drought of the 1930's to turn the Plains into a raging Dustbowl.
Fortunately, thanks to conservation efforts and a series of wet years in the 1940's the wheat lands of the Great Plains were eventually saved from becoming a desert.
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Geology School Keywords
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