Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and later by his son Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (in order from left to right) George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.[1] The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2)[2] and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.[3]
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 site and chose the larger Mount Rushmore. Borglum also decided the sculpture should have a more national focus, and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding, 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 construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in October 1941.
The U.S. National Park Service took control of the memorial in 1933, while it was still under construction, and manages the memorial to the present day. It attracts approximately two million people annually.[4]
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The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument that is currently under construction in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in the form of Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The memorial was commissioned by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to be sculpted by Korczak Ziółkowski.
The memorial consists of the mountain carving (monument), the Indian Museum of North America, and the Native American Cultural Center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain on land considered sacred by some Native Americans, between Custer and Hill City, roughly 17 miles away from Mount Rushmore.
The sculpture's final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet (195 m) wide and 563 feet (172 m) high. The head of Crazy Horse will be 87 feet (27 m) high; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. Presidents atMount Rushmore are each 60 feet (18 m) high.
The monument has been in progress since 1948 and is still far from completion.[1] If completed, it may become the world's largest sculpture, as well as the first non-religious statue to hold this record since 1967; the last being Russia's Mamayev Monument.[2]
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Sylvan Lake, known as the "crown jewel" of Custer State Park, is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Created in 1881 when Theodore Reder built a dam across Sunday Gulch,[2] it offers picnic areas, rock climbing, small rental boats, swimming, and hiking trails. It is also popular as a starting point for excursions to Harney Peak and The Needles.
The lake was featured in the 2007 film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The film made the lake appear to be located directly behind Mount Rushmore when in fact it is five miles southwest of the monument.
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Spearfish Canyon is a deep but narrow gorge carved by Spearfish Creek just south of Spearfish in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It is located on the northern edge of Black Hills National Forest. Many tourists drive through the canyon on the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway, drawn to the region due to its wide range of wildlife, abundant and diverse vegetation, geology, rock formations, and waterfalls. Spearfish Creek is stocked with trout and dammed in several spots, affording fishing opportunities. In addition, remnants of Spearfish Canyon's active mining history are still easily found in some locations.
It is often studied by geologists due to the extreme old age of the Precambrian rocks exposed by the Creek bed.
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