Mount Rushmore

Located near Keystone, Mount Rushmore is a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota, on which is carved a massive granite sculpture, and it is situated in the United States Presidential Memorial. It is representative of the first 150 years of U.S. history, containing the 18 m, or 60-foot, sculpted heads of some of the previous presidents of the United States, namely: George Washington, who was in office from 1789 to 1797; Thomas Jefferson, who was president from 1801 to 1809; Theodore Roosevelt, from 1901 to 1909; and Abraham Lincoln, from 1861 to 1865. These are considered four of the most notable presidents of the United States. Given below are some more interesting facts about Mount Rushmore.

It took more than 14 years for Gutzon Borglum, along with about 400 workers, to carve out the 60-foot sculpted heads of the four presidents. And during the construction, the workers climbed 506 steps in order to get to the top. And yet, although the work was dangerous, not a single life was lost.

Gutzon Borglum was 60 years of age when he started this project in the year 1927. And although it took that much time to finish the sculpture, it ended up costing just 1 million dollars.

The sculpted faces rise up to 5,500 feet above the level of the sea. If the torso had been attached to scale, the whole would have measured 465 feet. Each of the sculptured heads is as high as a 6-story building.

When measured from the top of the head to the chin, each sculpture is as high as the Great Sphinx of Egypt. The eyes measure 11 feet across, the mouth of each is 18 feet in width, and each President's nose measures 20 feet in length.

It was not easy to finish the construction of the monument. It required great expertise and craftsmanship. Dynamite was used to clear large sized rocks. The workers first created an egg-shaped mass of the rock as the base of the heads. Then, the rocks were blasted by specialists to within a few inches of the actual measurements. Then they used tools like air powered hammers, hammers, wedges, and nails to carve out the finished heads. During the process, about 800 million pounds of rock was removed.

The reason that the Mount Rushmore project was undertaken was Gutzon Borglum's wish to create something grand in order to pay tribute to the four presidents. But apart from that, he also wanted to commemorate the high ideals that they each had brought to the United States as well as exemplified in themselves. As he said himself that they were picked because they "commemorate the founding, growth, preservation, and development to the United States."

Hence, George Washington was chosen because he was the one who led the nation to democracy; Thomas Jefferson, because he authored the Declaration of Independence; Abraham Lincoln because he brought to an end slavery in the U.S.; and Theodore Roosevelt, who was chosen by Borglum himself, because he was the one who advanced the cause of the construction of the Panama Canal as well as promoted the causes of conservation and business.

The entire Mount Rushmore National Memorial lies over 1,278 acres, which is managed by the National Park Service. It attracts about 2 million visitors annually.

Mount Rushmore is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Doane Robinson was known as the "Father of Mount Rushmore." The sculptor of the presidents on Mount Rushmore was Gutzon Borglum.

It has four presidents: George, Tom, Ted, and Abe!

(George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln)

Mount Rushmore was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum on the side of a mountain.

Mount Rushmore is also known as the "Shrine of Democracy".

Gutzon Borglum wanted to create a Hall of Records and a Great Stairway as part of the monument. The Hall of Records was carved in about 70 feet (21 m) on the opposite side of a gorge from the heads. The hall was left incomplete when Congress, in 1939, directed that all work be executed only on the faces. However, in 1998, a repository of records was placed in the entrance. The repository contains sixteen porcelain enamel panels with the story of how Mount Rushmore came to be inscribed on them.

Mount Rushmore is named after New York City attorney Charles E. Rushmore, who came to the Black Hills in 1884 to check legal titles on properties. On returning to Pine Camp he asked Bill Challis the name of this mountain. Bill replied, "Never had a name but from now on we'll call it Rushmore."

The mountain was originally known to the Lakota Sioux as "Six Grandfathers".

Doane Robinson, South Dakota State Historian, is known as the "Father of Mount Rushmore". It was his idea to do the carvings in the Black Hills and he invited Gutzon Borglum to South Dakota to discuss the project.

Over 90% of Mount Rushmore was carved using dynamite. Dynamite blasts removed approximately 450,000 tons of rock from the mountain.

More than 400 people worked on the carvings. Even though it was dangerous work, there were no deaths.

The carving of Mount Rushmore involved the use of dynamite, followed by the process of "honeycombing". About 450,000 tons of rock were blasted off the mountainside.

Mount Rushmore is largely composed of Harney Peak Granite.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is the location of the chase scene in the movie, "North by Northwest". However, it was not filmed at Mount Rushmore due to the fact that permission was refused by the National Park Service since it involves the filming of an attempted killing.

Mount Rushmore is a carving of the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Construction began in 1927 and was stopped in October 1941 due to lack of funding.

The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum died before the monument was completed and his son, Lincoln Borglum took over.

The 4 are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. They are the 1st, 3rd, 16th, and 26th Presidents of the US.

(From left to right as viewed, they are Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln.)

All four of the president's faces on Mount Rushmore are 60 feet tall from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin.

They were chosen to represent the founding, expansion, preservation, and world prominence of the US:

George Washington, (1st president) led the early colonial army in the American Revolutionary War to win independence from Great Britain. Because of his importance and his role in creating the United States, Washington is the most prominent figure on the mountain. (1732-1799)

Thomas Jefferson, (3rd president) he was the author of the Declaration of Independence, a document which inspires democracies around the world. He also purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 which doubled the size of our country, adding all or part of fifteen present-day states. (1743-1826)

Theodore Roosevelt, (26th president) provided leadership when America experienced rapid economic growth as it entered the 20th Century. He was instrumental in negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the east and the west. He was known as the "trust buster" for his work to end large corporate monopolies and ensure the rights of the common working man. He is also the leading land conservationist in world history, setting aside over 230 million acres for conservation purposes. (1858-1919)

Abraham Lincoln, (16th president) held the nation together during its greatest trial, the Civil War. Lincoln believed his most sacred duty was the preservation of the union. His efforts put an end to slavery. (1809-1865).

"The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt."

Gutzon Borglum

Mount Rushmore has been said to symbolize the greatness of the nation through the greatness of its leaders, American freedom, liberty, and democracy.

Mt. Rushmore is located near Keystone, South Dakota.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located 23 miles southwest of Rapid City, South Dakota in the Black Hills.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hills of western South Dakota.

1,078 meters or 5,600 feet high.

The height of Mount Rushmore is 500 feet high and 400 feet wide . It is 5,700 feet above sea level .