USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Low rainfall caused drought and dust storms. Fierce winds and frequent dust storms eroded and blew away the soil. The remaining tough soil was thought to be unsuitable for farming. Before the Civil War, the Great Plains were considered a “treeless wasteland".

Detailed explanation-2: -1. Choice of a crop (wheat) that did not require much rainfall to grow. 2. Plowing the land deeply to allow moisture to get deep into the soil more easily when it did rain.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Prairie Provinces were settled by British, German Russians (many of them Mennonites), Ukrainians, and Scandinavians. Many of the immigrants were religious, thrifty, hardworking people who developed a strong attachment to the land.

Detailed explanation-4: -The harsh dry climate and densely packed soil of the Great Plains required new farming methods and technological innovations in order for settlement to begin. One new farming method, called dry farming, was to plant seeds deep in the ground, where there was enough moisture for them to grow.

Detailed explanation-5: -The expansion of railroads and the invention of barbed wire and improvements in windmills and pumps attracted ranchers and farmers to the Great Plains in the 1860s and 1870s.