Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Additional park details coming very soon.
Park Photos
Mount Rushmore, 2000
National Park Service
Mount Rushmore, 2002
National Park Service
Mount Rushmore, 2005
National Park Service
View More Mount Rushmore Photos
In Detail
Crazy Horse The Mount Rushmore Memorial encouraged another accomplished artist to carve a second colossal sculpture in the Black Hills. In 1948, seven years after work stopped on nearby Mount Rushmore, grand-scal ... read more.
Did You Know : Black Hills The Black Hills' name originates from the Sioux term paha sapa, or "hills of black," because the dense pine forests covering the hills appear black at a distance. ... read more.
Did You Know : Gutzon Borglum Gutzon Borglum, a friend of the great French artist Auguste Rodin, was one of America's most successful artists before he even considered Mount Rushmore. His Mares of Diomedes was the first work by a ... read more.
Did You Know : Mount Rushmore The hard granite of Mount Rushmore is among the oldest rock in the world. Geologists claim it will erode at a rate of one inch every 10,000 years. ... read more.
Did You Know : Work of Art Mount Rushmore represents the largest work of art on Earth. Each face is 60 feet high, compared to the head on the Statue of Liberty, which is only 17 feet tall. Amazingly, there were no deaths and ... read more.
History of Mount Rushmore South Dakota's first inhabitants lived more than 9,000 years ago. Most of these nomadic tribes migrated with the massive herds of bison (commonly called buffalo) that roamed the grasslands of the Gre ... read more.
In A Nutshell Mount Rushmore National Memorial is open year-round. The memorial can be viewed from the roadside 24-hours-a-day. The main developed area (including facilities) is closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in th ... read more.
Jefferson Born in 1743 to Virginia planters, Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence at age 33, giving the nation a plan for sover-eignty and freedom. Jefferson also served as governor of his ... read more.
Lincoln "The Great Emancipator," Abraham Lincoln, was born to impoverished parents in Kentucky's backwoods in 1809. Lincoln taught himself law, served in the Illinois Legislature, then gained a seat in the U ... read more.
Lincoln Borglum Museum The museum has two 125-seat theaters where visitors can view a 13-minute orientation movie about how and why the memorial was carved. A bookstore operated by the Mount Rushmore History Association, r ... read more.
Making Mount Rushmore Mount Rushmore National Memorial is as much a product of dreams and determination as it is the work of a talented sculptor. The Father of Rushmore In 1923, Doane Robinson, the aging superintendent ... read more.
Roosevelt The only presidential selection to draw any measure of criticism was that of Theodore Roosevelt, the nation's 26th president. Some academics argued that history had not yet judged the Roosevelt pr ... read more.
Washington As "father of our country" and the nation's first president, George Washington earned his place as the foremost figure in the presidential portrait. Born in 1732 in Virginia, as a youth he surveyed ... read more.
What Can You Do? • Visit Mount Rushmore in the winter, spring or fall to relieve summer overcrowding. • Place all litter in the recycling bins and trash cans provided throughout the park. • Stay on ... read more.
Recent News
- More than Rushmore: Take a South Dakota trip August 7, 2008, 11:47 am
- Eye of the Warrior June 26, 2008, 11:10 am
Mount Rushmore In Depth
News from the Parks
Gettysburg Address to Return for Visitor Center Grand Opening
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
August 21, 2008 - 5:04pm
There are only five known manuscripts of the famous Gettysburg Address, penned by President Abraham Lincoln — one of those original documents is scheduled to appear in Gettysburg, during the grand opening celebration of the new Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center.
Anglers Wary of North Cascades Plan to Limit Fishing
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
August 21, 2008 - 10:51am
Not much comes easy in the precipitous ice-and-rock geography of North Cascades National Park -- not the hiking, not the high-lakes fishing, and across the park's 40 years of existence, not even fish management. This is what I'm thinking during the sweaty hike out of the stunning cirque that embraces Monogram Lake, where I've spent a couple hours catching and releasing dozens of pretty cutthroat trout with two mountain anglers who fear that soon there will be no fish in the park's high lakes. Whether trout should be in these lakes at all has been an issue since the park was created in 1968, and it is coming to a head with the release in July of the park's voluminous "Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan."
Bison Advocates Go for Space
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
August 21, 2008 - 10:48am
As rancher Rick Knobe slowly guides his pickup around the iconic American bison on the prairie here, he reflects on a time when they roamed freely. "I figure the buffalo were there first, the elk were there first, the wolves were there first," he says, looking over his herd of 28 American bison, on his Lazy RRse Buffalo Ranch. "I figure these animals should be given more the right of way to roam."
Rapid Climate Change Threatens to Thaw Icy Wonderland of Alaska
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
August 21, 2008 - 10:43am
I was in Alaska for 10 days in August, on a fellowship with Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the Union of Concerned Scientists, to see firsthand the effects of global warming. I didn't have to look far. I watched massive chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the sea.
Park Seeks Construction Comment
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
August 21, 2008 - 10:38am
The National Park Service proposes to construct new housing, operations and recreation facilities in Big Bend National Park. The public, organizations and other agencies may review and comment upon a draft environmental assessment (EA) describing the proposal. The new construction would occur at Panther Junction, Rio Grande Village and Castolon. The proposal is to construct 27 structures, of which 15 would serve new purposes and 12 would replace temporary or inadequate facilities.
