The United States' contiguous western and especially southwestern region has experienced widespread drought since about year 2000. Below normal precipitation leads to drought, and is caused by an abov
A farmer and his two sons during a dust storm in Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936. Photo: Arthur Rothstein.
A typical dry lakebed is seen in California in 2009, which is experiencing its worst megadrought in 1,200 years, precipitated by climate change, and is therefore rationing water.
Folsom Lake reservoir during the California drought in 2015
The 1988–1990 North American drought ranks among the worst episodes of drought in the United States. This multi-year drought began in most areas in 1988 and continued into 1989 and 1990. The drought c
Droughts in the United States
…very damaging was farmers might have farmed on land which was marginally arable. Another reason was pumping groundwater near the depletion mark. The drought of 1988 destroyed crops almost nationwide, residents' lawns went brown and water restrictions were declared in many cities. The Yellowstone National Park fell…
President of the United States Ronald Reagan and Vice President Bush discuss the drought with Secretary of Agriculture Lyng
Exploration of wooden hull wrecks in the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee during the drought