Mount Rushmore

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This article is about the mountain. For the 1960s rock band, see Mount Rushmore (band).

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Sculptures of George Washington, Thomas

Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln (left to

right)

Location Pennington County, South Dakota, United

States

Nearest city Keystone, South Dakota

435244N 1032735W Coordinates:

Coordinates
435244N 1032735W
 Area 1,278 acres (5.17 km2)

Established March 3, 1925

Visitors 2,185,447 (in 2012)[1]

Governing body National Park Service

Website Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount
Rushmore, a batholith in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota, United States.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution
from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum.[2][3] Mount Rushmore features 60-
foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George
Washington (17321799), Thomas Jefferson (17431826), Theodore Roosevelt (18581919),
and Abraham Lincoln (18091865).[4] The memorial park covers 1,278.45 acres (2.00 sq mi;
5.17 km2)[5] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.[6]
South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the
likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote
tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon
Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition
from Native American groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage
of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American
West heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud,[7] and Buffalo Bill Cody,[8] but Borglum decided
the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.
After securing federal funding through the enthusiastic sponsorship of "Mount Rushmore's
great political patron" U.S. Senator Peter Norbeck,[9] construction on the memorial began in
1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon
Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over as leader of the
construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist. Lack of
funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.[10]
Mount Rushmore has become an iconic symbol of the United States, and it has appeared in
works of fiction, as well as being discussed or depicted in other popular works. It attracts over
two million visitors annually.[1]

Contents
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1History
2Ecology
3Geography
o 3.1Geology
o 3.2Soils
o 3.3Climate
4Tourism
5Conservation
6Controversy
7In popular culture
8Legacy and commemoration
 9See also
10References
11External links