What led to the environmental damage that caused the Dust Bowl?

1. desert winds emerging from the southwest

2. rotating crops every year and having fallow land

3. overplanting throughout the Great Plains

4. a year-long drought

3. overplanting throughout the Great Plains

Explanation:

The phenomenon of the 1930s known as Dust Bowl was one of the worst ecological disasters of the twentieth century. The drought affected the plains and grasslands that extend from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The drought lasted at least between 1932 and 1939, and was preceded by a long period of above-average rainfall. The dust bowl effect was caused by persistent drought conditions, favored by years of soil management practices that left it susceptible to the action of wind forces. The soil, stripped of moisture, was lifted by the wind in large clouds of dust and sand so thick that they hid the sun. These days they were called "black blizzards" or "black wind." The Dust Bowl multiplied the effects of the Great Depression in the region and caused the largest population displacement in a short period of time in the history of the United States. Three million inhabitants left their farms during the 1930s, and more than half a million emigrated to other states, especially to the west.

Drought and improper farming techniques which destroyed the top soil essentially turning it to dust. This was followed by high winds which created the event known as the dustbowl.