Locust Plague of 1874
1875 cartoon by Henry Worrall depicting Kansas farmers battling giant grasshoppers. | |
| Date | 1874 |
|---|---|
| Location | Great Plains (United States, Canada) |
| Type | Infestation |
| Cause | Locusts |
The Locust Plague of 1874, or the Grasshopper Plague of 1874, occurred in the summer of 1874 when hordes of Rocky Mountain locusts invaded the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The locusts swarmed over an estimated 2,000,000 square miles (5,200,000 km2) and caused millions of dollars' worth of damage. Residents described swarms so thick that they covered the sun for up to six hours.