During the 1930s the dust bowl was a series of dust storms that ran through out the Midwest causing agriculture to dwindle. The prairies that were first built on were surrounded by tall grass holding topsoil, when the farmers removed this grass to plant; the effects were not realized at first however. The tall grass served as protection from the elements, so when drought struck in 1930 all the crops were killed. Since there was no grass to protect the soil, when the earth became dry, the wind blew the rest of the topsoil away. Suddenly there were dust storms occurring everywhere, these dust storms killed live stock and even cause pneumonia in small children. The land became unusable and there was no other choice then to leave the land behind and find work somewhere else. California at the time was the perfect place to leave to. (Amadeo)

The dust bowls main impact was on the southern plains. Though the north plains were not very affected by the dust bowl, they still had wind and droughts. (About the Dust Bowl) This had a large impact on agricultural workers. Due to the fact that they couldn’t grow crops they were forced to become migrant workers finding work where ever they could. Since California was part of the northern plains, many went to California to continue in agriculture, after all Sonoma and Napa Valley are known to this day for their grapes. Many families traveled in caravans to fine work up north.