The Dust Bowl of the 1930s ranks as the worst ecological disaster in American history. Get our free mobile appWhy Baca County, Colorado Took the Full BruntGoogle Maps Baca County ColoradoGround zero was Baca County, tucked into the state's southeastern corner where Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico all bump elbows. The phrase "Dust Bowl" got coined because of what happened right here. An Associated Press reporter caught in it started calling the region the "Dust Bowl," and the name stuck. It just means the Colorado Dust Bowl is a piece of state history most Western Slopers would have to drive seven hours to go stand in.