Mt. Rushmore is truly a National Treasure
June 26th, 2008 by Carefreetrip.comThis epic sculpture features the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. South Dakota’s Black Hills provide the backdrop for Mount Rushmore, the world’s greatest mountain carving. These 60-foot high faces, 500 feet up, look out over a setting of pine, spruce, birch, and aspen in the clear western air.
The four faces of Mount Rushmore National Memorial tower 6,000 feet above sea level and are scaled to men who would stand 465 feet tall. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally planned to include a Hall of Records behind his carving of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, but never completed the project.
Borglum began drilling into the 5,725-foot mountain in 1927. Creation of the Shrine of Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it’s now deemed priceless.
“A monument’s dimensions should be determined by the importance to civilization of the events commemorated. We are not here trying to carve an epic, portray a moonlight scene, or write a sonnet; neither are we dealing with mystery or tragedy, but rather the constructive and dramatic moments or crises in our amazing history.” Gutzon Borglum
The Avenue of Flags leads from the Concession Building to the Grandview Terrace. The flags of the 56 states and territories fly below the memorial. Here, the avenue provides direct and easy access to the Grandview Terrace and Presidential Trail, a half-mile walking trail that offers spectacular views of the mountain sculpture.
The memorial offers interpretive programs, exhibits and a film at the Lincoln Borglum Museum. Rangers provide interpretive walks and talks, including the Evening Sculpture Lighting Ceremony. The lighting program takes place at approximately 9 p.m. nightly (May-September) in the park’s amphitheater. The amphitheater is fully accessible via the Avenue of Flags to elevators at the museum.
Mount Rushmore looks grand in any weather condition except a thick fog. And since the main activity at this national monument is a prolonged upward stare (and indoor museum visits), it doesn’t much matter when you go. If you plan to explore the surrounding Black Hills area, aim for summer or fall; winter can be very cold and spring brings snowstorms. In summer, days are warm (usually in the 80s) and nights are cool (into the 40s).
The great thing is that the erosion rate of Mount Rushmore National Memorial is estimated by geologists at 1 inch every 10,000 years - so it should be around for many years to come.
