View source for Mount Rushmore

{{Short description|Mountain in South Dakota with sculptures of four U.S. presidents}}
{{For|the band|Mount Rushmore (band)}}
{{Pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Mount Rushmore National Memorial<br />''Shrine of Democracy''<br />Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe
| photo = Mount Rushmore detail view (100MP).jpg
| photo_caption = View of Mount Rushmore, showing the sculpted heads of [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]] and [[Abraham Lincoln]]
| map = South Dakota#USA
| relief = 1
| map_caption = 
| location = [[Pennington County, South Dakota]]
| nearest_city = [[Keystone, South Dakota]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|43|52|44|N|103|27|33|W|type:landmark_region:US-SD|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref = 
| area_acre = 1278
| authorized = {{start date and age|1925|3|3}}
| visitation_num = 2,440,449
| visitation_year = 2022
| visitation_ref = <ref name=tourismstat>{{cite web |url=https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Ranking%20Report%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year) |title=Annual Park Ranking Report for Recreation Visits in: 2022 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=July 23, 2023 }}</ref>
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| website = {{URL|www.nps.gov/moru}}
{{Infobox NRHP
 |embed          = yes
 |name           = Mount Rushmore National Memorial
 |nrhp_type      = hd
 |built          = 1927–1941
 |architect      = [[Gutzon Borglum|Gutzon]] and [[Lincoln Borglum]]
 |refnum         = 66000718
 |added          = October 15, 1966
 }}
}}

The '''Mount Rushmore National Memorial''' is a [[National Memorial (United States)|national memorial]] centered on a [[colossal sculpture]] carved into the [[granite]] face of '''Mount Rushmore''' ({{Langx|lkt|Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe}}, or '''Six Grandfathers''') in the [[Black Hills]] near [[Keystone, South Dakota]], United States. The sculptor, [[Gutzon Borglum]], named it the '''''Shrine of Democracy''''',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/interesting-facts-about-mount-rushmore-1779326 |title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Mount Rushmore |date=January 16, 2021 |website=ThoughtCo |first=Jennifer |last=Rosenberg |access-date=March 28, 2023 }}</ref> and oversaw the execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, [[Lincoln Borglum]].<ref name="delBianco">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/29/nyregion/luigi-del-bianco-mount-rushmore.html |title=An Immigrant's Contribution to Mount Rushmore Is Recognized, 75 Years Later |last=Roberts |first=Sam |date=June 28, 2016 |access-date=September 19, 2017 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref name="delBiancoSDMag">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[South Dakota Magazine]] |title=Slight of Hand |url=http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/slight-of-hand |access-date=September 22, 2017 |last=Andrews |first=John |date=May 2014 }}</ref> The sculpture features {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} depictions of the heads of four United States presidents: [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]], and [[Abraham Lincoln]],<ref>[http://www.mountrushmoreinfo.com/ Mount Rushmore National Memorial] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823002054/http://www.mountrushmoreinfo.com/ |date=August 23, 2017 }}. December 6, 2005.60 SD Web Traveler, Inc. Retrieved April 7, 2006.</ref> respectively chosen to represent the nation's foundation, expansion, development, and preservation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why These Four Presidents? |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/why-these-four-presidents.htm |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=February 13, 2019 }}</ref> Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually<ref name="tourismstat" /> to the memorial park which covers {{convert|1278|acre|sqmi hectare|sigfig=3}}.<ref>McGeveran, William A. Jr. et al. (2004). ''The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004''. New York: World Almanac Education Group, Inc. {{ISBN|0-88687-910-8}}.</ref> The mountain's elevation is {{convert|5725|ft|m}} above sea level.<ref name="peakbagger">"[http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=6234 Mount Rushmore, South Dakota]". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved March 13, 2006.</ref>

Borglum chose Mount Rushmore in part because it faces southeast for maximum sun exposure. The carving was the idea of [[Doane Robinson]], South Dakota's state historian. Robinson originally wanted the sculpture to feature [[American frontier|American West]] heroes, such as [[Lewis and Clark Expedition|Lewis and Clark]], their expedition guide [[Sacagawea]], [[Oglala]] Lakota chief [[Red Cloud]],<ref>''!'', episode 5x08 "Mount Rushmore", May 10, 2007.</ref> [[Buffalo Bill|Buffalo Bill Cody]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohranger.com/mount-rushmore/making-mount-rushmore |title=Making Mount Rushmore &#124; Mount Rushmore |publisher=Oh, Ranger! |access-date=October 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120074710/http://www.ohranger.com/mount-rushmore/making-mount-rushmore |archive-date=November 20, 2012 }}</ref> and Oglala Lakota chief [[Crazy Horse]].<ref>Pekka Hamalainen, ''Lakota America, a New History of Indigenous Power'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019), p. 382.</ref> Borglum chose the four presidents instead.

[[Peter Norbeck]], [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]] from South Dakota, sponsored the project and secured federal funding.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rushmore-norbeck/ |title=Senator Peter Norbeck |work=American Experience: Mount Rushmore |publisher=PBS |access-date=July 20, 2013 }}</ref> Construction began in 1927 and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. After Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941,<ref>{{cite web |title=Complete Program Transcript . Mount Rushmore |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/rushmore-transcript/ |website=American Experience |publisher=PBS |access-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301145446/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/rushmore-transcript/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and only Washington's sculpture includes any detail below chin level.

The sculpture at Mount Rushmore was built on land that was taken from the [[Great Sioux Nation|Sioux Nation]] in the 1870s.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barbash |first1=Fred |last2=Elkind |first2=Peter |date=July 1, 1980 |title=Sioux Win $105 Million |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/07/01/sioux-win-105-million/a595cc88-36c6-49b9-be4f-6ea3c2a8fa06/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |issn=0190-8286 }}</ref> The Sioux [[Black Hills land claim|continue to demand return of the land]], and in 1980 the US Supreme Court ruled in ''[[United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians]]'' that the taking of the Black Hills required just compensation, and awarded the tribe $102 million. The Sioux have refused the money, and demand the return of the land. This conflict continues, leading some critics of the monument to refer to it as a "Shrine of Hypocrisy".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Gonzalez |first1=Mario |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xv8vNd6VgMMC&pg=PA146 |title=The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty |last2=Cook-Lynn |first2=Elizabeth |author-link2=Elizabeth Cook-Lynn |date=1999 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-252-06669-6 |pages=144–146 |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
=== "Six Grandfathers" to "Mount Rushmore" ===
Mount Rushmore and the surrounding [[Black Hills]] ({{Lang|lkt|Pahá Sápa}}) are considered sacred by [[Plains Indians]] such as the [[Arapaho]], [[Cheyenne]], and [[Lakota people|Lakota Sioux]], who used the area for centuries as a place to pray and gather food, building materials, and medicine.<ref name="McKeever">{{Cite news |first=Amy |last=McKeever |date=October 28, 2020 |title=South Dakota's Mount Rushmore has a strange, scandalous history |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-strange-and-controversial-history-of-mount-rushmore |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223233517/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-strange-and-controversial-history-of-mount-rushmore |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 23, 2021 |access-date=February 24, 2023 |work=[[National Geographic]] |language=en }}</ref>
The Lakota called the mountain "Six Grandfathers" ({{Lang|lkt|Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe}}),<ref name="Harmanşah">{{Cite book |last=Harmanşah |first=Ömür |chapter=Six Grandfathers: Landscapes and Power |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0U22BQAAQBAJ&pg=PT44 |title=Place, Memory, and Healing: An Archaeology of Anatolian Rock Monuments |date=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-317-57571-9 |doi=10.4324/9781315739106 |page=16 |language=en }}</ref> symbolizing ancestral deities personified as the [[Cardinal direction#North America|six directions]]: north, south, east, west, above (sky), and below (earth).<ref name=Morton>{{Cite journal |last=Morton |first=Mary Caperton |date=September 3, 2020 |title=Mount Rushmore's Six Grandfathers and Four Presidents |url=http://eos.org/features/mount-rushmores-six-grandfathers-and-four-presidents |access-date=February 24, 2023 |journal=[[Eos (magazine)|Eos]] |volume=101 |doi=10.1029/2020eo148456 |language=en-US |doi-access=free |issn=0096-3941 }}</ref>
In the latter half of the 19th century, expansion by the United States into the Black Hills led to the [[Sioux Wars]]. In the [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)|1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie]], the U.S. government granted exclusive use of all of the Black Hills, including Six Grandfathers, to the Sioux in perpetuity.<ref name=McKeever/><ref name=Morton/>

Six Grandfathers was a significant part of the spiritual journey taken in the early 1870s by Lakota leader [[Black Elk]] ({{Lang|lkt|Heȟáka Sápa}}, also known as "The Sixth Grandfather")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neihardt |first=John Gneisenau |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXElCJTANaoC&pg=PP1 |title=The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt |date=1985 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |isbn=978-0-8032-6564-6 |language=en }}</ref> that culminated at the nearby [[Black Elk Peak]]<ref name="Harmanşah"/> ({{Lang|lkt|Hiŋháŋ Káǧa}}'','' "Making of Owls").<ref name="Saum-Elk">{{Cite book |last=Saum |first=Bradley |title=Black Elk Peak: A History |date=2017 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4396-6050-8 |language=en |chapter=Black Elk |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEDFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT22 }}</ref><ref name="Saum-Intro">{{Cite book |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEDFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT5 |last=Saum |first=Bradley |title=Black Elk Peak: A History |date=2017 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4396-6050-8 |language=en }}</ref> U.S. general [[George Armstrong Custer]] summited Black Elk Peak a few years later in 1874 during the [[Black Hills Expedition]], which triggered the [[Black Hills Gold Rush]] and [[Great Sioux War of 1876]].<ref name=Saum-Custer>{{Cite book |chapter=Custer |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEDFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT34 |last=Saum |first=Bradley |title=Black Elk Peak: A History |date=2017 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4396-6050-8 |language=en }}</ref>
In 1877, the U.S. broke the Treaty of Fort Laramie and asserted control over the area, leading to an influx of settlers and prospectors.<ref name=McKeever/><ref name=Morton/>

Among those prospectors was New York mining promoter James Wilson, who organized the Harney Peak Tin Company, and hired New York attorney [[Charles E. Rushmore]] to visit the Black Hills and confirm the company's land claims. Rushmore visited the area on three or four trips over the span of 1884 and 1885. During one of these visits, Rushmore was traveling near the base of the peak and, impressed with it, asked his guide, Bill Challis, the mountain's name; Challis replied that the mountain did not have a name, but that it would henceforth be named after Rushmore.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=Saum-Mountain/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-28 |title=Charles E. Rushmore |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/charles-e-rushmore.htm |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial, US National Park Service |language=en}}</ref> The name "Mount Rushmore" continued to be used locally, and was officially recognized by the United States Board of Geographic Names in June 1930.<ref name=Morton/><ref name=Saum-Mountain/>

=== Concept, design and funding ===
[[File:Mount Rushmore distant view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The completed sculpture]]
By the 1920s, South Dakota had become a U.S. state, and was a popular destination for [[road trip]]pers visiting the [[Black Hills National Forest]], [[Wind Cave National Park]], and [[Needles Highway]].<ref name="McKeever"/>
In 1923,<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Fite">{{Cite journal |last=Fite |first=Gilbert C. |author-link=Gilbert Fite |date=1975 |title=Gutzon Borglum: Mercurial Master of Colossal Art |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4517975 |journal=[[Montana: The Magazine of Western History]] |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=2–19 |issn=0026-9891 |jstor=4517975}}</ref><ref name="NPSTimeline">{{Cite web |date=November 29, 2022 |title=Timeline – Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/timeline.htm |access-date=March 2, 2023 |website=[[National Park Service]] |language=en}}</ref> the [[Secretary (title)|Secretary]] of the [[South Dakota State Historical Society]], [[Doane Robinson]], who would come to be known as the "Father of Mount Rushmore",<ref name=Morton /><ref name=NPSRobinson>{{Cite web |date=January 25, 2023 |title=Doane Robinson |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/doane-robinson.htm |access-date=March 2, 2023 |website=[[National Park Service]] |language=en }}</ref> learned about the "Shrine to the Confederacy", a project to carve the likenesses of [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] generals into the side of [[Stone Mountain]], Georgia, that had been underway since 1915.<ref name=McKeever />
Seeking to boost tourism to South Dakota, Robinson began promoting the idea of a similar monument in the Black Hills.<ref name=Morton /><ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1" /> Robinson initially approached sculptor [[Lorado Taft]], but Taft was ill at the time and uninterested in Robinson's project. Robinson next sought the help of then-U.S. Senator [[Peter Norbeck]], who had established [[Custer State Park]] when he was Governor in 1919. Norbeck cautiously supported Robinson's plan, and Robinson began campaigning for it publicly.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> The ''[[Sioux Falls Argus Leader]]'' was also an early proponent of Robinson's plan.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Fite |first=Gilbert C |url=https://archive.org/details/mountrushmore0000fite_f6p6/ |title=Mount Rushmore |publisher=Mount Rushmore History Association |isbn=9780964679856 |edition=2nd |location=Keystone, SD |publication-date=1980 |language=en |ol=1263286W |orig-date=1952 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Robinson's plan had some support in South Dakota, but it also faced opposition, with opposition being particularly vehement in the Black Hills area.<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Fite2">{{Cite journal |last=Fite |first=Gilbert C. |author-link=Gilbert Fite |date=1975 |title=Gutzon Borglum: Mercurial master of colossal art |journal=Montana: The Magazine of Western History |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=2–19 |jstor=4517975}}</ref> Many people there opposed the project on [[Conservation movement|conservationist]] grounds, wishing to leave the appearance of the area unaltered.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Freeman |first=John F |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIvgCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |title=Black Hills Forestry: A History |date=2015 |publisher=University Press of Colorado |isbn=978-1-60732-298-6 |location=Boulder, CO |page=101}}</ref> Many others opposed it because they did not want an influx of tourism to the area.<ref name=":2" /> [[Cora Babbitt Johnson]], editor of the [[Hot Springs, South Dakota]] newspaper, the ''Hot Springs Star'', was particularly outspoken in her opposition to the planned sculptures.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Taliaferro |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/greatwhitefather00tali/page/206/mode/1up |title=Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore |date=2002 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1-58648-205-3 |location=New York |page=206 |ol=3568834M}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Rex Alan |url=https://archive.org/details/carvingofmountru00rexa/ |title=The Carving of Mount Rushmore |date=1985 |publisher=Abbeville Press |isbn=978-1-55859-665-8 |edition=1st paperback |location=New York |ol=8606339M |url-access=registration}}</ref> Others opposed to the plan included the Black Hills [[General Federation of Women's Clubs|Federation of Women's Clubs]] and the ''Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan''.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1925-04-29 |title=Oppose Borglum's project |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sioux-city-journal-oppose-borglums/175798482/ |access-date=2025-07-03 |work=The Sioux City Journal |pages=3}} (Archived at [[Newspapers.com]])</ref> Through 1924, predominant opinion in South Dakota was either opposed or indifferent to the memorial project, and it was only through considerable lobbying on the part of Robinson and Borglum that the project began to gain support in early 1925.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name="Fite2" /> South Dakota Governor [[Carl Gunderson]] also leaned toward opposition to the project, but informed Senator Norbeck that he would not actively oppose it.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":3" />

Although many Lakota and other Native Americans would come to oppose the Mount Rushmore statues as a desecration of their sacred land during the modern era of [[Native American civil rights]] movement, Native groups did not openly protest the monument during the time of its planning and construction. Indeed, [[Black Elk]] would visit the site in 1936 while it was still under construction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ostler |first=Jeffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-JVPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 |title=The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-14-311920-3 |location=New York |page=147 |language=en}}</ref>

On August 20, 1924, Robinson wrote to Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of "Shrine to the Confederacy", asking him to travel to the Black Hills region to determine whether the carving could be accomplished.<ref name="Fite2" /><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010135902/http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/carving_history.htm |title=Carving History |date=August 2, 2004 |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/carving_history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 10, 2006}}</ref>
Borglum, who had involved himself with the [[Ku Klux Klan]],{{Relevance inline|date=July 2025|discuss=Talk:Mount_Rushmore#Relevance of Borglum's KKK affiliation?}} one of the Stone Mountain memorial's funders, had been having disagreements with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, and on September 24, 1924, travelled to South Dakota to meet Robinson.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHelDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22September+24,+1924%22+borglum&pg=PT114 |author=Michael Patrick Cullinane |title=Theodore Roosevelt's Ghost: The History and Memory of an American Icon |publisher=LSU Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-8071-6674-1 |access-date=January 11, 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Carving">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rushmore/peopleevents/e_stonemtn.html |title=People & Events: The Carving of Stone Mountain |work=American Experience |publisher=PBS |access-date=March 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413223326/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rushmore/peopleevents/e_stonemtn.html |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The press reported a later, March 7, 1925, conference between Norbeck and Borglum, with specific mention of the Washington-Lincoln design and the use of [[Black Elk Peak]] (Mount Harney).<ref>"Norbeck Seeks Borglum." Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star, March 7, 1925, 1.</ref> Borglum was formally offered the project, but said he would withhold his decision until conflicts with the [[Stone Mountain]] Confederate Memorial Carving were settled.<ref>"New Offer Made to Sculptor Borglum" Nashville Manner, March 8, 1925, 8.</ref>

Borglum's original plan was to make the carvings in {{convert|490|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} [[granite]] pillars known as "[[Needles (Black Hills)|The Needles]]" (''{{Lang|lkt|Hiŋháŋ Káǧa}}''). The Needles were an established area landmark, being a centerpiece of [[Custer State Park]] and the scenic [[Needles Highway]]. The proposal to turn the Needles into sculptures had aroused some of the strongest opposition to the project, and the idea was abandoned in order to assuage opposition.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Fite2" /> (It was later noted that the Needles would have been too small and unstable to support carving on the scale that Borglum wished to carry out.)<ref name="Morton" /> On August 14, 1925, Borglum summitted Black Elk Peak while scouting alternative locations,<ref name="Saum-Mountain">{{Cite book |last=Saum |first=Bradley |title=Black Elk Peak: A History |date=2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-6050-8 |language=en |chapter=Mountain Monument |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEDFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT39}}</ref> and reportedly said upon seeing Mount Rushmore, "America will march along that skyline."<ref name="autogenerated1" /> He chose Mount Rushmore, a grander location, partly because it faced southeast and enjoyed maximum exposure to sunlight.<ref name="Morton" />

Borglum rejected Robinson's original plan of depicting characters from the [[Old West]], such as [[Lewis and Clark]], [[Red Cloud]], [[Sacagawea]], [[John C. Fremont]], and [[Crazy Horse]], and instead decided to depict four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.<ref name=McKeever/><ref name=Morton/><ref name=Fite/>
The four presidential faces were said to be carved into the granite with the intention of symbolizing "an accomplishment born, planned, and created in the minds and by the hands of Americans for Americans".<ref name="Boime">Boime, Albert. "Patriarchy Fixed in Stone: Gutzon Borglum's 'Mount Rushmore'". American Art 5:1–2 (Winter–Spring 1991), 142–167.</ref>

Senator Norbeck and Congressman [[William Williamson (American politician)|William Williamson]] of South Dakota introduced bills in early 1925 for permission to use federal land,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/historical-letters-and-legislation.htm |title=Historical Letters and Legislation |date=May 23, 2022 |website=National Park Service |access-date=December 14, 2022 }}</ref> which passed easily. South Dakota legislation had less support, only passing narrowly on its third attempt, which Governor Gunderson signed into law on March 5, 1925. The approval came without any allocated funds, however, leaving the project to be financed by private sources.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":3" /> Private funding came slowly and Borglum invited President [[Calvin Coolidge]] to the dedication ceremony, at which he promised federal funding. The dedication ceremony was held on August 10, 1927, and carving of the sculpture got underway in October 4. The [[Mount Rushmore National Memorial Act]], which authorized up to $250,000 in matching funds, was introduced to Congress in 1928 and signed into law by Coolidge on February 25, 1929, just before leaving office. The 1929 presidential transition to [[Herbert Hoover]] delayed funding until an initial federal match of $54,670.56 was acquired.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/memorial-history.htm |title=Memorial History |date=May 23, 2022 |website=National Park Service |access-date=December 14, 2022 }}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
Six Grandfathers.jpg|Mount Rushmore (Six Grandfathers) before construction, {{circa|1905}}
Mount Rushmore proposal reported in The Chicago Tribune November 28, 1926 (1).jpg|Early model of the design
RushmoreWithLeftJefferson.jpg|Construction underway, with Jefferson leftmost, before unstable rock necessitated a design change
Gutzon Borglum's model of Mt. Rushmore memorial.jpg|Original mockup of the Mount Rushmore sculpture "before funding ran out"<ref>{{cite web |title=Rare Photos From The Past |url=http://autooverload.com/unexplainable-rare-photos-from-the-past-2/5/ |page=5 |quote=1941, the original mockup of Mt. Rushmore before funding ran out |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119001549/http://autooverload.com/unexplainable-rare-photos-from-the-past-2/5/ |archive-date=January 19, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 18, 2019 }}</ref>
Mount Rushmore2.jpg|Construction of George Washington's likeness
Mount Rushmore Closeup 2017.jpg|Closeup view of final sculptures
</gallery>

=== Construction ===
{{Main|Construction of Mount Rushmore}}
Between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/carving-history.htm |title=Carving History |access-date=February 22, 2013 |publisher=National Park Service }}</ref> sculpted the colossal {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} carvings of [[President of the United States|United States Presidents]] George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 150 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory.<ref name=autogenerated1/><ref name="Boime" /> The carving of Mount Rushmore involved the use of [[dynamite]], followed by the process of "honeycombing", where workers drill holes close together, allowing small pieces to be removed by hand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/workers.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801031839/http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/workers.htm |archive-date=August 1, 2008 |title=Honeycombing process explained from |publisher=nps.gov |date=June 14, 2004 |access-date=March 20, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In total, about {{convert|450,000|ST|MT}} of rock were blasted off the mountainside.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm |title=Geology Fieldnotes |publisher=nps.gov |date=January 4, 2005 |access-date=October 22, 2010 |archive-date=October 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016233647/http://nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/moru/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The project was completed without a single fatality.<ref name="NPSfacts">{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.nps.gov/moru/faqs.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214005005/http://www.nps.gov/moru/faqs.htm |archive-date=December 14, 2012 |access-date=December 2, 2009 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Michael |date=nd |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, United States |url=http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/USNP/sdmtrsh/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100513050856/http://www.outdoorplaces.com/Destination/USNP/sdmtrsh/index.htm |archive-date=2010-05-13 |access-date=2025-07-08 |website=OutdoorPlaces.Com}}</ref> The image of Thomas Jefferson was originally intended to appear in the area at Washington's right, but after the work there was begun, the rock was found to be unsuitable, so the work on Jefferson's figure was dynamited, and a new figure was sculpted to Washington's left.<ref name=autogenerated1/> 
[[File:Mount Rushmore Workers.jpg|thumb|Plaque at Mount Rushmore National Monument with names of monument workers]]
The chief carver of the mountain was [[Luigi Del Bianco]], an artisan and [[Stonemasonry|stonemason]] who emigrated to the U.S. from [[Friuli]] in Italy and was chosen to work on this project because of his understanding of sculptural language and ability to imbue emotion in the carved portraits.<ref name=delBianco /><ref name=delBiancoSDMag />

In 1933, the [[National Park Service]] took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction. Julian Spotts helped with the project by improving its infrastructure. For example, he had the tram upgraded so it could reach the top of Mount Rushmore for the ease of workers. By July 4, 1934, Washington's face had been completed and was dedicated. The face of Thomas Jefferson was dedicated in 1936, and Abraham Lincoln's on September 17, 1937. In 1937, a bill was introduced in Congress to add the head of civil-rights leader [[Susan B. Anthony]], but a [[rider (legislation)|rider]] was passed on an appropriations bill requiring federal funds be used to finish only those heads that had already been started at that time.<ref name=timeline>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rushmore/timeline/timeline2.html American Experience] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114191216/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rushmore/timeline/timeline2.html |date=November 14, 2012 }} "Timeline: Mount Rushmore" (2002). Retrieved March 20, 2006.</ref> In 1939, the face of Theodore Roosevelt was dedicated.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29999525/the_atlanta_constitution/ |title=Remember Stone Mountain's Mighty Memorial? |newspaper=The Atlanta Constitution |location=Atlanta, Georgia |date=July 7, 1939 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com |last1=Cope |first1=Willard }}</ref>

The Sculptor's Studio&nbsp;– a display of unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting&nbsp;– was built in 1939 under the direction of Borglum. Borglum died from an [[embolism]] in March 1941. His son, [[Lincoln Borglum]], continued the project. Originally, it was planned that the figures would be carved from head to waist,<ref>[http://www.engineeringsights.org/SightDetail.asp?Sightid=526&id=SD&view=s&name=South+Dakota&page=1&image=0 Mount Rushmore National Memorial] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203033407/http://www.engineeringsights.org/SightDetail.asp?Sightid=526&id=SD&view=s&name=South+Dakota&page=1&image=0 |date=December 3, 2013 }}.</ref> but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Borglum had also planned a massive panel in the shape of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] commemorating in {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall|spell=in}} gilded letters the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]], Louisiana Purchase, and seven other territorial acquisitions from the [[Alaska Purchase]] to the [[Panama Canal Zone]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite journal |last=Boime |first=Albert |author-link=Albert Boime |title=Patriarchy Fixed in Stone: Gutzon Borglum's 'Mount Rushmore' |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/424112 |journal=[[American Art (journal)|American Art]] |volume=5 |issue=1/2 |date=Winter–Spring 1991 |doi=10.1086/424112 |pages=142–67 |s2cid=191573145 |access-date=September 15, 2020 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> In total, the entire project cost US$989,992.32 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|989,992.32|1941}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref name=SDTourism>[http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/students/Ahmann/rushmore.html Mount Rushmore National Memorial] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060224003931/http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/students/Ahmann/rushmore.html |date=February 24, 2006 }}. Tourism in South Dakota. Laura R. Ahmann. Retrieved March 19, 2006.</ref>

Nick Clifford, the last remaining carver, died in November 2019 at age 98.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kotatv.com/content/news/Last-carver-of-Mount-Rushmore-dies-at-98-565388721.html |title=Last carver of Mount Rushmore dies at 98 |date=November 23, 2019 |first=Nick |last=Reagan |website=www.kotatv.com |access-date=November 26, 2019 }}</ref>

=== Later developments ===
[[Harold Spitznagel]] and [[Cecil Doty]] designed the original visitor center, finished in 1957, as part of the [[Mission 66]] effort to improve visitors' facilities at national parks and monuments across the country.<ref name="sdhistory_37_4">{{cite journal |last=Lathrop |first=Alan K. |date=Winter 2007 |title=Designing for South Dakota and the Upper Midwest: The Career of Architect Harold T. Spitznagel, 1930—1974 |url=https://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-37-4/designing-for-south-dakota-and-the-upper-midwest-the-career-of-architect-harold-t-spitznagel-1930-1974/vol-37-no-4-designing-for-south-dakota-and-the-upper-midwest.pdf |journal=South Dakota History |volume=37 |pages=271–305 |number=4 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/465700 |title=Mission 66 Visitor Centers: The History of a Building Type |last=Allaback |first=Sarah |date=2000 |website=[[National Park Service]] }}</ref> Ten years of redevelopment work culminated with the completion of extensive visitor facilities and sidewalks in 1998, such as a Visitor Center, the [[Lincoln Borglum Museum]], and the Presidential Trail.

On October 15, 1966, Mount Rushmore was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. A 500-word essay giving the history of the United States by [[Nebraska]] student William Andrew Burkett was selected as the college-age group winner in a 1934 competition, and that essay was placed on the Entablature on a bronze plate in 1973.<ref name=timeline/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/upload/THE-BURKETT-PLAQUE.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319191839/http://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/upload/THE-BURKETT-PLAQUE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 19, 2015 |title=Text of 1934 Essay – History of the United States |access-date=August 27, 2017 }}</ref>

Members of the [[American Indian Movement]] led an occupation of the monument in 1971, naming it "Mount Crazy Horse", and Lakota holy man [[John Fire Lame Deer]] planted a prayer staff on top of the mountain. Lame Deer said that the staff formed a symbolic shroud over the presidents' faces "which shall remain dirty until the treaties concerning the Black Hills are fulfilled."<ref name="Glass">Matthew Glass, "Producing Patriotic Inspiration at Mount Rushmore", ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', Vol. 62, No. 2. (Summer, 1994), pp. 265–283.</ref>

In 1991, President [[George H. W. Bush]] officially dedicated Mount Rushmore National Memorial.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29656 |title=George Bush: Remarks at the Dedication Ceremony of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota |date=July 3, 1991 |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=August 27, 2017 }}</ref> In 2004, [[Gerard Baker (National Park Service)|Gerard Baker]] was appointed superintendent of the park, the first and so far only Native American in that role. Baker stated that he will open up more "avenues of interpretation", and that the four presidents are "only one avenue and only one focus."<ref name="Native">{{cite web |author=David Melmer |date=December 13, 2004 |title=Historic changes for Mount Rushmore |url=http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/28172949.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808193845/http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/archive/28172949.html |archive-date=August 8, 2010 |access-date=March 17, 2010 |work=Indiancountrytoday }}</ref>

=== Proposals to add additional faces ===
In 1937, when the sculpture was not yet complete, a bill in Congress supporting the addition of women's rights activist [[Susan B. Anthony]] failed. When the sculpture was completed in 1941, the sculptors said that the remaining rock was not suitable for additional carvings. This stance was shared by RESPEC, an engineering firm charged with monitoring the stability of the rock in 1989. Proposals of additional sculptures include [[John F. Kennedy]] after his assassination in 1963, and [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1985 and 1999 – the latter proposal receiving a debate in Congress at the time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/288213.stm |title=World: Americas Reagan for Rushmore |date=March 1, 1999 |publisher=BBC |access-date=November 25, 2020 }}</ref> [[Barack Obama]] was asked about his own potential addition in 2008 and he joked that his ears were too large.<ref name=football>{{cite news |url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/06/26/south-dakota-mount-rushmore-national-memorial-national-park-service-can-add-face/3243967001/ |title=Adding fifth face to Mount Rushmore National Memorial has been political football for decades |date=June 26, 2020 |newspaper=Argus Leader |publisher=USA Today Network |first=Tom |last=Lawrence |access-date=November 25, 2020 }}</ref>

[[Donald Trump]] has expressed interest in his own addition to the mountain. During a 2017 rally in Ohio, Trump said, "I'd ask whether or not you some day think I will be on Mount Rushmore{{nbsp}}... If I did it joking, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say, 'He believes he should be on Mount Rushmore.' So I won't say it."<ref name="shelbourne2017">{{cite news |last1=Shelbourne |first1=Mallory |title=Trump: 'I won't say' that I should be on Mount Rushmore |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/343786-trump-i-wont-say-that-i-should-be-on-mount-rushmore/ |access-date=June 30, 2024 |work=The Hill |date=July 25, 2017 }}</ref> South Dakota Governor [[Kristi Noem]] described the potential addition as Trump's "dream" in 2018.<ref name="Ehrlich">{{Cite web |last=Ehrlich |first=Jamie |title=New York Times: White House reached out to South Dakota governor about adding Trump to Mount Rushmore |date=August 9, 2020 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/politics/mount-rushmore-trump-south-dakota/index.html |access-date=August 10, 2020 |publisher=CNN }}</ref> On January 28, 2025, [[Anna Paulina Luna|Rep. Anna Paulina Luna]] (R-FL) introduced a bill, H.R. 792, in the House of Representatives to add Trump's likeness to the monument.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/792 |title=H.R.792 – To direct the Secretary of the Interior to arrange for the carving of the figure of President Donald J. Trump on Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=U.S. Congress |access-date=February 5, 2025 |date=January 28, 2025 }}</ref>

It is not possible to add another president to the memorial because the rock that surrounds the existing faces is not suitable for additional carving,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klinski |first=Michael |date=April 24, 2018 |title=Mount Trumpmore? It's the president's 'dream,' Rep. Kristi Noem says |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/04/24/president-donald-trump-mount-rushmore-trumpmore/544597002/ |access-date=August 9, 2020 |website=Argus Leader |language=en-US }}</ref> and because additional sculpting could create instabilities in the existing carvings.<ref name=football/>

=== Black Hills land dispute ===
{{main|Black Hills land claim}}

The Black Hills, in which Mount Rushmore is situated, is the subject of a [[Land claim dispute|land claim]] by the [[Lakota people]] that both precedes the construction of the memorial and is ongoing. The [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)]] had granted the Black Hills to the Lakota in perpetuity, but the United States took the area from the tribe after the [[Great Sioux War of 1876]]. The 1980 [[United States Supreme Court]] decision ''[[United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980) |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/448/371.html |access-date=February 11, 2021 |website=Findlaw |language=en-US}}</ref> ruled that the Sioux had not received just compensation for their land in the Black Hills.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 12, 2015 |title=Significant Indian Cases |url=https://www.justice.gov/enrd/significant-indian-cases |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704034335/https://www.justice.gov/enrd/significant-indian-cases |archive-date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=July 4, 2020 |website=The United States Department of Justice |publisher=United States Government}}</ref> The court proposed $102 million as compensation for the loss of the Black Hills. However, the tribe has refused the settlement, arguing that this would amount to payment for land they never agreed to sell.<ref name="PBS">{{cite news |last1=Fritz |first1=Mike |last2=Sreenivasan |first2=Hari |last3=LeGro |first3=Tom |date=2011-08-24 |title=Why the Sioux are refusing $1.3 billion |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/north_america-july-dec11-blackhills_08-23 |work=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref>

=== Crazy Horse Memorial ===
Construction on the [[Crazy Horse Memorial]] began in 1940 elsewhere in the Black Hills. Ostensibly to commemorate the Native American leader and as a response to Mount Rushmore, if completed it would be larger than Mount Rushmore. The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has rejected offers of federal funds. Its construction has the support of some Lakota chiefs, but it is the subject of controversy, even among Native American tribes.<ref>Lame Deer, John (Fire) and Richard Erdoes. ''Lame Deer Seeker of Visions''. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1972. Paperback {{ISBN|0-671-55392-5}}</ref>

== National Memorial site description ==
[[File:NPS mount-rushmore-2016-detail-map.jpg|left|thumb|Map of central memorial area, Mount Rushmore National Memorial.]]
The {{convert|1278|acre|hectare|adj=on|sigfig=3}} site of Mount Rushmore National Memorial extends northward from the sculptures to include the entirety of Mount Rushmore and half of Old Baldy Mountain, and southward to Grizzly Bear Creek, where it borders on the [[Black Elk Wilderness]] and has a trail connection to the [[South Dakota Centennial Trail]]. The main road through the park is [[South Dakota Highway 244]], which branches off of [[U.S. Route 16A]] near the eastern entrance to the park, beyond which lies the town of [[Keystone, South Dakota|Keystone]]. The National Memorial is bounded by [[Black Hills National Forest]] on all sides.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on the monumental sculptures, which are faced by a building and terrace complex that is designed to optimize viewing of the sculptures. A broad walkway known as Avenue of Flags is situated between the main parking lot, the park shops, and the Grand View Terrace. The walkway was added during the 1976 [[United States Bicentennial]] and is lined with the flags of all 50 current [[U.S. state|states]], as well as the [[District of Columbia]], three [[Territories of the United States|territories]], and two [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealths]], arranged in alphabetical order.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Avenue of Flags, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/avenue-of-flags.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref>

At the end of the Avenue of Flags lies the Grand View Terrace (added in 1998, along with the amphitheater), which is designed to offer a prime [[Scenic viewpoint|vantage point]] for the sculptures.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Grand View Terrace, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/grand-view-terrace.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref> The terrace is built atop the [[Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center]], which serves as a museum housing exhibits on the history of Mount Rushmore and its construction and on the presidents depicted in the sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/lincoln-borglum-visitor-center.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref> A large amphitheater extends below the museum and terrace and offers a place for seated viewing of the sculptures, as well as ranger talks, and is the central point for the memorial's evening program.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial Amphitheater |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/mount-rushmore-national-memorial-amphitheater.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref>

The Presidential Trail is a {{convert|0.6|mile|km|sigfig=1|adj=on}} loop trail that begins at and returns to the Visitor Center, and includes close views of the sculpture from the edge of Mount Rushmore's [[talus slope]], as well as access to the Sculptor's Studio.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Presidential Trail, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/presidential-trail.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service |language=}}</ref> The studio is connected to the Visitor Center by a series of long stairways (160 and 262 steps, respectively) with the Borglum Viewing Terrace between the two.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Borglum View Terrace, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/borglum-view-terrace.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref> The Sculptor's Studio, built in 1939, was Gutzon Borglum's second on-site studio. It was kept intact after the 1941 opening of the memorial to showcase Borglum's models, tools, and working effects and to house exhibits on the techniques used in build the sculptures.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Sculptor's Studio, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/sculptor-s-studio.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref>

An additional scenic viewpoint can be found farther away from the main memorial complex, to the west, along Highway 244. The spot is known as Profile View, and as the name suggests, offers a [[Portrait painting#Technique and practice|profile view]] of the sculptures.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Profile View, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/profile-view.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service}}</ref> U.S. Route 16A, known locally as Iron Mountain Road, routes through the hills east of the park and offers more distant viewpoints at several key points along its route, such as the Doane Robinson Tunnel and Norbeck Overlook.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-19 |title=Black Hills National Forest: Norbeck Overlook |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills/recreation/norbeck-overlook |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=US Forest Service |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Iron Mountain Road (North Entrance), Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/iron-mountain-road-north-entrance.htm |access-date=2025-07-07 |website=US National Park Service |language=}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|title=
|width=600 |height=170 |noborder=
|mode= packed
|align=center
|footer=
|File:Mount_Rushmore_South_Dakota_-2.jpg |Avenue of Flags
|File:Photo_of_a_display_in_the_Exhibit_Hall_with_blacksmith_equipment_on_the_right,_a_piece_of_honeycombed_granite_in_the_center_and_(f50a806c-155d-4519-3e8c-b63c3fcd8ceb).jpg |Exhibit, Borglum Visitor Center|File:Mount_Rushmore_-_panoramio.jpg |Amphitheater and sculptures|File:Sculptors_Studio_Interior_Mt_Rushmore_2024.jpg| Sculptor's Studio|File:Washington_on_Mt_Rushmore_9-2019.jpg|Close up view of George Washington, Presidential Trail|File:The_Top_of_Mt._Rushmore_looking_out.JPG|Memorial complex, as seen from Mount Rushmore.}}

=== Hall of Records ===
[[File:Hall of Records - Behind Mt. Rushmore.JPG|thumb|The uncompleted Hall of Records, located near the mountain top, in a crag behind Lincoln's head. The 1998 time capsule can be seen at the entrance.]]
Borglum originally envisioned a grand Hall of Records where America's greatest historical documents and artifacts, including the [[United States Constitution]] and [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], could be protected and exhibited for visitors. The Hall of Records was to be located in a vault that was cut into the interior of the mountain, with an entrance near the top, behind the presidential heads. Borglum envisioned the construction of a long series of stairways that would lead up the side of Mount Rushmore to the vault's entrance.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" />

Borglum and his workers managed to start the project, beginning a vault high on Mount Rushmore, in a crag behind the Abraham Lincoln figure. However, they only managed to cut about {{Convert|70|feet|meters}} into the rock, before work stopped in 1939 to focus on the heads. No further work on the Hall of Records was carried out after completion of the statues in 1941. No trail was ever built to the uncompleted vault and because of the general policy of keeping visitors away from the mountaintop, the vault has been off-limits to the public, except for a few individuals who have been allowed to document the site while accompanied by park rangers.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t_aMLFkMmY |title=What's inside Mount Rushmore? |date=2020-06-25 |last=What's Inside? |access-date=2025-07-07 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

In 1998, a stone [[time capsule]] was constructed inside the mouth of the cave housing 16 enamel panels with biographical and historical information about Mount Rushmore, as well as the texts of the documents Borglum wanted to preserve there. The repository consists of a [[teakwood]] box inside of a titanium vault placed in the ground with an engraved granite capstone. The capstone is typically covered by a wooden lid to further protect it from the elements.<ref name=":8">{{cite web |title=Hall of Records |work=Mount Rushmore National Memorial web site |publisher=National Park Service |date=June 14, 2004 |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/hall_of_records.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011230039/http://nps.gov/archive/moru/park_history/carving_hist/hall_of_records.htm |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |access-date=July 4, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/hall-of-records.htm |title=Hall of Records |work=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=September 22, 2024 }}</ref><ref name=":10" />

{{Commons|File:Mt Rushmore Hall of Records panel text - Completing the Sculpture.pdf|Text of the Hall of Records capsule panels|position=left}}

== Monument conservation ==
The ongoing conservation of the site is overseen by the National Park Service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/moru/naturescience/upload/rock%20block%20display%20true%20size-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513223756/http://www.nps.gov/moru/naturescience/upload/rock%20block%20display%20true%20size-2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 13, 2009 |title=Caring for a Monumental Sculpture |access-date=July 8, 2013 |publisher=National Park Service }}</ref> Maintenance of the memorial requires mountain climbers to monitor and seal cracks annually.<ref>{{cite web |title=Preservation |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service) |date=January 30, 2023 |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/preservation.htm |access-date=March 24, 2023 }}</ref> Due to budget constraints, the memorial is not regularly cleaned to remove [[lichen]]s. However, in 2005 [[Kärcher|Alfred Kärcher]], a German manufacturer of [[Pressure washer|pressure washing]] and steam cleaning machines, conducted a free cleanup operation which lasted several weeks, using pressurized water at over {{convert|200|F|C}}.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 11, 2005 |title=For Mount Rushmore, An Overdue Face Wash |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/10/AR2005071000754.html |access-date=March 17, 2010 }}</ref> Other efforts to conserve the monument have included replacement of the sealant applied originally to cracks in the stone by Gutzon Borglum, which had proved ineffective at providing water resistance. The components of Borglum's sealant included linseed oil, granite dust, and white lead, but a modern silicone replacement for the cracks is now used, disguised with granite dust.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/historyculture/preservation.htm |title=Preservation – Mount Rushmore National Memorial |access-date=December 26, 2020 |publisher=National Park Service }}</ref>

In 1998, electronic monitoring devices were installed to track movement in the topology of the sculpture to an accuracy of {{convert|0.12|in|mm|0}}. The site was digitally recorded in 2009 using a terrestrial [[laser scanning]] method as part of the international [[Scottish Ten]] project, providing a high-resolution record to aid the conservation of the site. This data was made publicly accessible online.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.cyark.org/mount-rushmore-national-memorial-intro |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |access-date=July 8, 2013 |publisher=CyArk |archive-date=July 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712021611/http://archive.cyark.org/mount-rushmore-national-memorial-intro |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Geology ==
Mount Rushmore is largely composed of [[granite]]. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the [[Black Elk Peak]] granite [[batholith]] in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith [[magma]] intruded into the pre-existing [[mica]] [[schist]] rocks during the [[Proterozoic]], 1.6 billion years ago.<ref name="autogenerated3">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080616091103/http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/pphtml/subenvironmentalfactors13.html Geologic Activity]. National Park Service.</ref> Coarse grained [[pegmatite]] [[Dike (geology)|dikes]] are associated with the [[granite]] intrusion of Black Elk Peak and are visibly lighter in color, thus explaining the light-colored streaks on the foreheads of the presidents.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The Black Hills granites were exposed to [[erosion]] during the [[Neoproterozoic]], but were later buried by [[sandstone]] and other sediments during the [[Cambrian]]. Remaining buried throughout the [[Paleozoic]], they were re-exposed again during the [[Laramide orogeny]] around 70 million years ago.<ref name=autogenerated3/> The Black Hills area was uplifted as an elongated geologic dome.<ref>Irvin, James R. [http://www.holoscenes.com/gallery5.html Great Plains Gallery] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720043247/http://www.holoscenes.com/gallery5.html |date=July 20, 2006 }} (2001). Retrieved March 16, 2006.</ref> Subsequent erosion stripped the granite of the overlying sediments and the softer adjacent schist. Some schist does remain and can be seen as the darker material just below the sculpture of Washington.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

The tallest mountain in the region is Black Elk Peak ({{convert|7,242|ft|m|disp=or|abbr=on}}). Borglum selected Mount Rushmore as the site for several reasons. The rock of the mountain is composed of smooth, fine-grained granite. The durable granite erodes only {{convert|1|in|mm}} every 10,000 years, thus was more than sturdy enough to support the sculpture and its long-term exposure.<ref name=autogenerated1/> The mountain's height of {{convert|5725|ft|m}} above sea level<ref name=peakbagger/> made it suitable, and because it faces the southeast, the workers also had the advantage of sunlight for most of the day.

=== Soils and hydrology ===
The Mount Rushmore area is underlain by well drained [[alfisol]] soils of very gravelly loam (Mocmount) to silt loam (Buska) texture, brown to dark grayish brown.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/ |title=SoilWeb: An Online Soil Survey |publisher=[[University of California, Davis]] |access-date=August 27, 2017 }}</ref>

The area receives about {{convert|18|in|mm}} of precipitation on average per year, enough to support abundant animal and plant life. Trees and other plants help to control [[surface runoff]]. Dikes, seeps, and springs help to dam up water that is flowing downhill, providing watering spots for animals. In addition, stones like [[sandstone]] and [[limestone]] help to hold [[groundwater]], creating [[aquifer]]s.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070312115239/http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/pphtml/subnaturalfeatures25.html Nature & Science- Groundwater]. National Park Service. Retrieved April 1, 2006.</ref>

== Climate ==
Mount Rushmore has a dry-winter [[humid continental climate]] (''Dwb'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]). The two wettest months of the year are May and June. [[Orographic lift]] causes brief but strong afternoon thunderstorms during the summer.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706092640/http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/travel_info/weather_hist.htm |title=Weather History |access-date=January 27, 2013 |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |archive-date=July 6, 2008 |date=June 23, 2004 |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/moru/travel_info/weather_hist.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{Weather box
|single line = y
|location = Mount Rushmore National Memorial (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1962–present)
|Jan record high F = 70
|Feb record high F = 68
|Mar record high F = 78
|Apr record high F = 85
|May record high F = 93
|Jun record high F = 99
|Jul record high F = 100
|Aug record high F = 99
|Sep record high F = 97
|Oct record high F = 86
|Nov record high F = 75
|Dec record high F = 68
|year record high F = 100

|Jan avg record high F = 57.8
|Feb avg record high F = 57.3
|Mar avg record high F = 65.2
|Apr avg record high F = 72.9
|May avg record high F = 81.5
|Jun avg record high F = 89.2
|Jul avg record high F = 92.7
|Aug avg record high F = 90.9
|Sep avg record high F = 87.2
|Oct avg record high F = 77.0
|Nov avg record high F = 65.4
|Dec avg record high F = 57.2
|year avg record high F = 94.0

|Jan high F = 36.8
|Feb high F = 36.3
|Mar high F = 44.2
|Apr high F = 50.2
|May high F = 59.6
|Jun high F = 71.1
|Jul high F = 78.7
|Aug high F = 77.5
|Sep high F = 69.1
|Oct high F = 55.0
|Nov high F = 44.4
|Dec high F = 36.6
|year high F = 55.0
|Jan mean F = 27.8
|Feb mean F = 27.3
|Mar mean F = 34.8
|Apr mean F = 41.0
|May mean F = 50.6
|Jun mean F = 61.5
|Jul mean F = 68.9
|Aug mean F = 67.8
|Sep mean F = 59.4
|Oct mean F = 45.9
|Nov mean F = 35.7
|Dec mean F = 28.2
|year mean F = 45.7
|Jan low F = 18.8
|Feb low F = 18.4
|Mar low F = 25.4
|Apr low F = 31.8
|May low F = 41.5
|Jun low F = 51.9
|Jul low F = 59.1
|Aug low F = 58.0
|Sep low F = 49.6
|Oct low F = 36.8
|Nov low F = 27.0
|Dec low F = 19.8
|year low F = 36.5

|Jan avg record low F = -5.8
|Feb avg record low F = -4.2
|Mar avg record low F = 3.8
|Apr avg record low F = 15.3
|May avg record low F = 26.9
|Jun avg record low F = 39.8
|Jul avg record low F = 48.1
|Aug avg record low F = 45.9
|Sep avg record low F = 32.2
|Oct avg record low F = 17.2
|Nov avg record low F = 6.8
|Dec avg record low F = -2.2
|year avg record low F = -12.6

|Jan record low F = −38
|Feb record low F = −29
|Mar record low F = −16
|Apr record low F = 1
|May record low F = 14
|Jun record low F = 27
|Jul record low F = 40
|Aug record low F = 33
|Sep record low F = 19
|Oct record low F = −4
|Nov record low F = −12
|Dec record low F = −31
|year record low F = −38
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 0.48
|Feb precipitation inch = 0.76
|Mar precipitation inch = 1.35
|Apr precipitation inch = 2.62
|May precipitation inch = 4.80
|Jun precipitation inch = 3.58
|Jul precipitation inch = 3.59
|Aug precipitation inch = 2.29
|Sep precipitation inch = 1.76
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.80
|Nov precipitation inch = 0.59
|Dec precipitation inch = 0.50
|year precipitation inch = 24.12
|Jan snow inch = 7.2
|Feb snow inch = 8.9
|Mar snow inch = 9.6
|Apr snow inch = 13.1
|May snow inch = 1.5
|Jun snow inch = 0.2
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.9
|Oct snow inch = 4.9
|Nov snow inch = 6.4
|Dec snow inch = 6.6
|year snow inch = 59.3
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 5.1
|Feb precipitation days = 6.1
|Mar precipitation days = 6.7
|Apr precipitation days = 9.7
|May precipitation days = 13.6
|Jun precipitation days = 13.4
|Jul precipitation days = 12.4
|Aug precipitation days = 10.5
|Sep precipitation days = 7.7
|Oct precipitation days = 7.1
|Nov precipitation days = 4.5
|Dec precipitation days = 4.7
|year precipitation days = 101.5
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 4.5
|Feb snow days = 4.9
|Mar snow days = 3.9
|Apr snow days = 3.4
|May snow days = 0.8
|Jun snow days = 0.1
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.2
|Oct snow days = 1.7
|Nov snow days = 3.0
|Dec snow days = 4.0
|year snow days = 26.5
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name= NOAA>
{{cite web |url=https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=unr |title=NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=October 28, 2021 }}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00395870&format=pdf |title=Station: MT RUSHMORE NMEM, SD |work=U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020) |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=October 28, 2021 }}</ref>
}}

== Biodiversity and ecology ==
Mount Rushmore falls within the [[List of ecoregions in the United States (EPA)|EPA ecoregion]] of the [[Black Hills|Black Hills Plateau]] (17b), an extension of the [[South Central Rockies forests|Middle Rockies ecoregion]] (17) that is entirely surrounded by the Northwestern [[Great Plains ecoregion]] (43).<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bryce |first1=Sandra A |last2=Omernik |first2=James M |last3=Pater |first3=David E |last4=and 6 others |date=1998 |title=Map of Level III and Level IV ecoregions in North Dakota and South Dakota |url=https://store.usgs.gov/assets/MOD/StoreFiles/Ecoregion/21629_nd_sd_front.pdf |access-date=2025-07-04 |publisher=US Environmental Protection Agency |type=Map}} Continued by: {{Cite web |title=Summary table: Characteristics of ecoregions of North Dakota and South Dakota |url=https://store.usgs.gov/assets/MOD/StoreFiles/Ecoregion/21629_nd_sd_back.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-11-25 |title=Ecoregions of North America |url=https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions-north-america |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=US Environmental Protection Agency |language=en}}</ref>

=== Flora and fauna ===
[[File:Black Hills, South Dakota 2014 17.jpg|left|thumb|Black Hills granitic peaks and ponderosa pine forest, MRNM. The effect of a pine beetle outbreak can be seen among the trees.]]
The flora and fauna of Mount Rushmore are similar to those of the rest of the Black Hills region of South Dakota. The forested areas of the park are largely composed of [[ponderosa pine]], with the majority of it consisting of [[Old-growth forest|old-growth]] stands.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Symstad |first1=Amy J |last2=Bynum |first2=Michael |date=2007 |title=Conservation value of Mount Rushmore National Memorial's forest |url= |journal=Natural Areas Journal |language= |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=293–301 |doi=10.3375/0885-8608(2007)27[293:CVOMRN]2.0.CO;2 |issn=}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Peter M |last2=Wienk |first2=Cody L |last3=Symstad |first3=Amy J |date=2008 |title=Fire and forest history at Mount Rushmore |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr292/2008_brown.pdf |journal=Ecological Applications |language=en |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=1984–1999 |doi=10.1890/07-1337.1 |pmid=19263892 |bibcode=2008EcoAp..18.1984B |issn=}}</ref> Other tree species are found individually or in small groves and include [[quaking aspen]], [[bur oak]], [[Picea glauca|white spruce]], and [[Betula papyrifera|paper birch]].<ref name=":4" /> Nine species of [[shrub]]s grow near Mount Rushmore. There are also a wide variety of [[wildflower]]s, including [[common blanketflower]], [[common sunflower]], [[purple coneflower]], [[upright prairie coneflower]], [[pale agoseris]], [[sawsepal penstemon]], [[Lewis flax]], [[purple prairie clover]], [[wild bergamot]], and [[hoary vervain]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Wildflowers |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/learn/nature/wildflowers.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref> Towards higher elevations, plant life becomes sparser.<ref name="FloraFauna">{{Cite web |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial: Flora and fauna |url=http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/ru/flora/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011030080944/http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/ru/flora/index.html |archive-date=2001-10-30 |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=American Park Network}}</ref>

[[Avibase]] lists 154 species of birds as occurring within the park.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lepage |first=Denis |date=2025 |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial bird checklist |url=https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=USsd03 |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World}}</ref> Common birds include [[turkey vulture]]s, [[red-tailed hawk]]s, [[red-naped sapsucker]]s, [[white-breasted nuthatch]]es, [[mountain bluebird]]s, and [[dark-eyed junco]]s.<ref name="birds">{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Birds |url=https://home.nps.gov/moru/learn/nature/birds.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Birds at Mount Rushmore |url=https://home.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=905723&id=96672952-1DD8-B71B-0B66D3F09B0AB61F |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |language= |type=}}</ref> [[Herps]] found in the park include [[western chorus frog]]s and [[northern leopard frog]]s,<ref name="amphib">{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Amphibians |url=https://home.nps.gov/moru/learn/nature/amphibians.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref> along with several species of snake. Grizzly Bear Creek and Starling Basin Creek, the two streams in the memorial, support fish such as [[longnose dace]] and [[brook trout]].{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}
[[File:Mountain goat at Mount Rushmore National Memorial with terrace in background.jpg|thumb|Mountain goat, Grand View Terrace]]
[[Mountain goat]]s are a common sight in the park, but are not native fauna. They are descendants of a herd that the Canadian government gifted to [[Custer State Park]] in 1924, which later escaped and are now widespread through the Black Hills.<ref name="FloraFauna" /><ref name="mammals" /> Common native terrestrial mammals include [[mule deer]], [[yellow-bellied marmot]]s, [[American red squirrel]]s, [[least chipmunk]]s, and [[Eastern deer mice|eastern]] and [[white-footed deer mice]].<ref name="mammals">{{Cite web |date=nd |title= Mammals |url= https://home.nps.gov/moru/learn/nature/mammals.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="schmidt-etal-2004">{{Cite report |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237622945 |title=Inventory of mammals at ten National Park Service units in the Northern Great Plains from 2002-2004 |last1=Schmidt |first1=Cheryl A |last2=Sudman |first2=Philip D |last3=Marquardt |first3=Shauna R |last4=Licht |first4=Daniel S |date=2004-12-31 |publisher=Northern Great Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network, US National Park Service |location=Keystone, SD |pages=63–71}}</ref> [[Coyotes]]<ref name="schmidt-etal-2004" /> and [[northern flying squirrel]]s<ref name="licht-etal-2012">{{Cite report |url=https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/460879 |title=Flying squirrel distribution and habitat use at Mount Rushmore National Memorial |last1=Licht |first1=Daniel S |last2=Bubac |first2=Christi |last3=Swedlund |first3=Jane |date=August 2012 |publisher=US National Park Service (NPS Natural Resource Technical Report. NPS/MORU/NRTR 2012/607) |series=}}</ref> are also occasionally seen. The monument is also an important habitat for [[bat]]s, and 11 species of bats have been reported from the park, including [[Silver-haired bat|silver-haired]] and [[hoary bat]]s and the endangered [[northern myotis]]. The fungus causing [[white-nose syndrome]] in bats has not been detected in the park, but has been detected at the nearby [[Badlands National Park]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Licht |first=Daniel S |date=2019 |title=Bat acoustic monitoring at Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/bat-acoustic-moru.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service |language=}}</ref>

=== Forest ecology ===
A 2007 study found that almost two-thirds of the park's acreage ({{convert|850|acre|hectare|sigfig=3}}) consisted of old-growth ponderosa pine forest, and of this 44% had no history of logging at all. This is unusual in the Black Hills, which has been heavily logged in the years since Euroamerican settlement, and represents one of the largest contiguous area of old-growth forest in the Black Hills, second only to Custer State Park.<ref name=":5" /> [[Forest fires]] occur in the ponderosa forests surrounding Mount Rushmore with a mean interval of every 27 years, as indicated by [[dendrochronology]] studies of local trees. Large fires are not common. Most events have been ground fires that serve to clear forest debris.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Forests |url=https://home.nps.gov/moru/learn/nature/forests.htm |access-date=2025-07-05 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref>

A 2010 article by a National Park Service fire ecologist notes that due to [[History of wildfire suppression in the United States|historical fire suppression policies]] in and around the park, much of the park's forested area had become overgrown with small [[understory]] trees that could serve as [[Wildfire#Spread|fuel]] for a large forest fire. The article recommended a regime of [[Forest thinning|mechanical thinning]] and [[woodchipping]] followed by [[prescribed burning]] to mitigate the fire hazard, as well as to make the forest more resilient against pine beetle infestation and to restore the natural [[Forest ecology|stand structure]] in these woodlands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wienk |first=Cody |date=2010 |title=Management of ponderosa pine forest at Mount Rushmore National Memorial using thinning and prescribed fire |url=https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2201590 |journal=Park Science |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=26–30}}</ref>

=== Environmental issues ===
A 2016 investigation by the [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]] found unusually high concentrations of [[perchlorate]] in the surface water and groundwater of the area.<ref>{{Cite report |chapter-url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/sir20165030 |chapter=Perchlorate and selected metals in water and soil within Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, 2011–15 |last1=Hoogestraat |first1=Galen K |last2=Rowe |first2=Barbara L |title=Scientific Investigations Report |date=2016 |publisher=US Geological Survey (Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5030) |issue= |doi=10.3133/sir20165030 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="USGS">{{cite web |date=May 2, 2016 |title=Fireworks Likely Caused Water Contamination at Mount Rushmore |url=https://www.usgs.gov/news/fireworks-likely-caused-water-contamination-mount-rushmore |access-date=June 27, 2020 |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref> A sample collected from a stream had a maximum perchlorate concentration of 54 micrograms per liter, roughly 270 times higher than samples taken from locations outside the area.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 3, 2016 |title=Mt. Rushmore H2O pollution: Fireworks to blame? |url=https://www.nbc26.com/news/national/fireworks-likely-source-of-mount-rushmore-water-pollution |work=WGBA |language=en |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The report concluded the probable cause of the contamination was the aerial [[fireworks]] displays that had taken place on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]]s from 1998 to 2009.<ref name="USGS" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fears |first1=Darryl |date=May 3, 2016 |title=Officials knew fireworks at Mount Rushmore could cause a fire. But they didn't expect this. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/03/officials-knew-fireworks-at-mount-rushmore-could-cause-a-fire-but-they-didnt-expect-this/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en}}</ref> The National Park Service also reported that at least 27 forest fires around Mount Rushmore in that same period (1998 to 2009) have been caused by fireworks displays.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=O'Dowd |first1=Peter |last2=Raphelson |first2=Samantha |date=July 3, 2020 |title=50 Years After Mount Rushmore Occupation, Native Americans Are 'Still Fighting' |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/07/03/native-americans-mount-rushmore-protest |access-date=April 4, 2021 |website=WBUR |language=en}}</ref> Nevertheless, an [[environmental impact assessment]] issued in 2020 left room for the possibility of returning fireworks to the memorial in the future.<ref>{{Cite report |date=February 2020 |title=Mount Rushmore National Memorial Independence Day holiday fireworks event: Environmental assessment |url=https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?documentID=100890 |access-date=2025-07-05 |publisher= US National Park Service, Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC)}}</ref>

== Recreation ==
The centerpiece of the park is the monument and viewing the monument and associated activities is the main attraction of the National Memorial. However, the larger {{convert|1278|acre|hectare|sigfig=3|adj=on}} park includes natural areas beyond the memorial itself.

[[Rock climbing]] and [[bouldering]] are popular activities within the park and nearby areas,<ref name=":6" /> though climbing anywhere close to the statues is prohibited and carries legal penalties.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title= Safety |url= https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/safety.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref> However, areas to the north of the memorial are popular climbing areas, and include the face of Mount Rushmore opposite the statues and the neighboring peak Old Baldy Mountain, as well as numerous other needles, peaks, and boulders. Noted climbers [[Jan and Herb Conn]] pioneered many climbing routes in this area in the 1940s and eventually came to make their home in the Black Hills in 1949.<ref name=":6">{{Cite magazine |last=Burr |first=Andrew |date=2012-05-16 |title=Monumental |url=https://www.climbing.com/news/monumental/ |access-date=2025-07-06 |magazine=Climbing |publisher=Outside Inc |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Higbee |first=Paul |date=2012-02-01 |title=Explorers of an unseen world |url=http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/explorers-of-an-unseen-world |access-date=2025-07-06 |magazine=South Dakota Magazine}}</ref> The area has over 800 climbing routes today, most requiring a high degree of technical skill.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Busse |first1=Andrew |title=The Needles of Rushmore: Climbing in and Around South Dakota's Mt Rushmore National Memorial |last2=Burr |first2=Andrew |date=2012 |publisher=Fixed Pin Publishing |isbn=978-0-9819016-8-8 |edition= |location=Boulder, Colorado}}</ref>

The best-known walking trail in the park is the Presidential Trail, near to the main memorial complex. However, there are also two hiking trails that are found in more remote areas of the park. The Blackberry Trail extends from just across from the main parking lot through the southern part of the park and into the [[Black Elk Wilderness]], connecting to the [[Centennial Trail (South Dakota)|Centennial Trail]] about {{convert|0.8|mile|km|sigfig=2|adj=off}} from the trailhead.<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Hiking The Blackberry Trail, Mount Rushmore National Memorial |url=https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hiking-the-blackberry-trail.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US National Park Service |language=en}}</ref> There is also a trail to the top of Old Baldy Mountain at the northern edge of the park. The trail begins at the Wrinkled Rock trailhead, just outside of the west entrance to the park and most of its course is outside of the boundaries of the National Memorial. It leads to the summit of Old Baldy after {{convert|1.5|mile|km|sigfig=2|adj=off}}, where there is a panoramic view of the Black Hills from the summit. However, only the backside of Mount Rushmore is in the line of sight from the summit and the statues cannot be seen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimny |first=Michael |date=2020-09-09 |title=The Black Hills' other Old Baldy |url=https://www.sdpb.org/rural-life/2020-09-09/the-black-hills-other-old-baldy |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=South Dakota Public Broadcasting |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Hike to Old Baldy Mountain |url=https://www.blackhillshikingbikingandmore.com/hike-to-mount-baldy |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Black Hills Hiking, Biking, and More |language=en-US}}</ref>

Camping is not allowed within the boundaries of the National Memorial,<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Eating & Sleeping |url=https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/eatingsleeping.htm |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher=US National Park Service}}</ref> however, there are public and private campgrounds and [[dispersed camping]] in the neighboring [[Black Hills National Forest]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title= Camping |url= https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/camping.htm |access-date= 2025-07-06 |website= Mount Rushmore National Memorial |publisher= US National Park Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=nd |title=Black Hills National Forest: Camping & Cabins |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/blackhills/recreation/camping-cabins |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=US Forest Service |language=en}}</ref>

== Tourism ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:1em; float:right"
|+ '''Historical visitor count'''<ref name="tourismstat" />
|-
! Year !! Visitors
|-
| 1941 || 393,000
|-
| 1950 || 740,499
|-
| 1960 || 1,067,000
|-
| 1970 || 1,965,700
|-
| 1980 || 1,284,888
|-
| 1990 || 1,671,673
|-
| 2000 || 1,868,876
|-
| 2010 || 2,331,237
|-
| 2020 || 2,074,986
|}
Tourism is South Dakota's second-largest industry, and Mount Rushmore is the state's top tourist attraction.<ref name="Statesite">{{cite web |title=Popular South Dakota Attractions >>South Dakota |url=http://www.southdakota.com/most-popular-attractions/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131057/http://www.southdakota.com/most-popular-attractions/ |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date=March 21, 2015 |publisher=southdakota.com}}</ref> A total of 2,440,449 people visited the park in 2022.<ref name="tourismstat" />

The popularity of the location, as with many other national monuments, derives from its immediate recognizability; "there are no substitutes for iconic resources such as the [[Statue of Liberty]], the [[Lincoln Memorial]], or Mount Rushmore. These locations are one of a kind places".<ref name="Parks2">Thomas J. Liu, John B. Loomis, and Linda J. Bilmes, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=rgiiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT88 Exploring the contribution of National Parks to the entertainment industry's intellectual property]", in Linda J. Bilmes and John B. Loomis, ''Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs: America's Best Investment'' (Routledge, 2020), [https://books.google.com/books?id=RT33DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 p. 95–98].</ref>

In the 1950s and 1960s, local [[Lakota people|Lakota Sioux]] elder [[Ben Black Elk|Benjamin Black Elk]] (son of medicine man [[Black Elk]], who had been present at the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]]) was known as the "Fifth Face of Mount Rushmore", posing for photographs with thousands of tourists daily in his native attire. The [[South Dakota State Historical Society]] notes that he was one of the most photographed people in the world over that 20-year period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kilen Ode |first=Jeanne |url=http://www.sdhspress.com/journal/south-dakota-history-14-1/dakota-images-benjamin-black-elk/vol-14-no-1-dakota-images-benjamin-black-elk.pdf |title=Dakota Images: Benjamin Black Elk |publisher=[[South Dakota State Historical Society]] |year=1984 |volume=14 |number=1}}</ref>

== Legacy and commemoration ==
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 300
| image_gap         = 25
| caption_align     = left
| image1            = Mount Rushmore stamp 3c 1952 issue.JPG
| alt1              = 1952 Mount Rushmore Stamp Issued in United States
| caption1          = 3-cent Mount Rushmore stamp, 1952
| image2            = Mount Rushmore airmail 26c 1974 issue.JPG
| alt2              = 1974 Mount Rushmore Stamp Issued in United States
| caption2          = 26-cent Mount Rushmore "Shrine of Democracy" airmail stamp, 1974
| image3            = 
| alt3              = 2006 South Dakota state quarter
| caption3          = 2006 South Dakota state quarter
}}

[[File:Mount Rushmore Anniversary Dollar.jpg|thumb|290px|The 1991 [[Mount Rushmore Anniversary coins|Mount Rushmore 50th Anniversary]] commemorative silver dollar|left]]
Borglum titled his sculpture at Mount Rushmore as the ''Shrine of Democracy'', but the illegal [[seizure of the Black Hills]] where the memorial is located has led to some critics to refer to it as the "Shrine of Hypocrisy".<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hoople |first=Robin |date=December 1, 2006 |title=Great Stone Faces: Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Quest for American Authenticity |url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/CRAS-s036-03-07 |journal=[[Canadian Review of American Studies]] |language=en |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=345–362 |doi=10.3138/CRAS-s036-03-07 |issn=0007-7720 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Louie |first=Clarence |author-link=Clarence Louie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIs0EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 |title=Rez Rules: My Indictment of Canada's and America's Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples |date=November 16, 2021 |publisher=[[McClelland & Stewart]] |isbn=978-0-7710-4834-0 |page=201 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Estes |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Estes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_W_nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT222 |title=Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance |date=February 26, 2019 |publisher=[[Verso Books]] |isbn=978-1-78663-673-7 |page=222 |language=en}}</ref>

On August 11, 1952, the U.S. Post Office issued the Mount Rushmore Memorial 3-cent [[commemorative stamp]] on the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.<ref>{{cite web |title=3c Mt. Rushmore single |url=http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=145349 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504180016/http://arago.si.edu/index.asp?con=2&cmd=1&id=145349 |archive-date=May 4, 2015 |access-date=July 1, 2014 |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum}}</ref> On January 2, 1974, a 26-cent airmail stamp depicting the monument was also issued.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |title=Scotts United States Stamp catalogue, 1982 |publisher=Scott's Publishing Company |year=1981 |isbn=0-89487-042-4}}, p. 289.</ref> In 1991 the United States Mint released commemorative silver dollar, half-dollar, and five-dollar coins celebrating the 50th anniversary of the monument's dedication,<ref>{{cite web |date=June 10, 2009 |title=1991 Mount Rushmore Silver Dollar |url=https://moderncommemoratives.com/1991-mount-rushmore-silver-dollar/ |access-date=February 28, 2020 |website=Modern Commemoratives}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 2009 |title=1991 Mount Rushmore Half Dollar Commemorative Coin |url=https://moderncommemoratives.com/1991-mount-rushmore-half-dollar/ |access-date=May 14, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 11, 2009 |title=1991 Mount Rushmore $5 Gold Commemorative Coin |url=https://moderncommemoratives.com/1991-mount-rushmore-5-gold/ |access-date=May 14, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> and the sculpture was the main subject of the 2006 South Dakota [[50 State Quarters|state quarter]].<ref>Jim Noles, ''A Pocketful of History: Four Hundred Years of America—One State Quarter at a Time" (Da Capo Press, May 6, 2008) {{ASIN|B009K44LT8}}.''</ref>

In music, American composer [[Michael Daugherty]]'s 2010 piece for chorus and orchestra, "Mount Rushmore", depicts each of the four presidents in separate movements. The piece sets texts by George Washington, [[William Billings]], Thomas Jefferson, [[Maria Cosway]], Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.<ref>[http://www.boosey.com/cr/news/Michael-Daugherty-s-Mount-Rushmore-Premieres-with-the-Pacific-Symphony-and-Chorale/11964 "Michael Daugherty's Mount Rushmore Premieres with the Pacific Symphony and Chorale"] Retrieved August 27, 2014.</ref> By contrast, the song, "Little Snakes", by [[Protest The Hero]], "addresses the violent colonial history involved in the sculpting of Mount Rushmore", critiquing the monument as a symbol of [[colonialism]], referencing the [[genocide of indigenous peoples]] and the ownership of slaves by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rolli |first=Bryan |date=June 16, 2020 |title=Protest the Hero's Rody Walker: Trump's Vision of Greatness Is America's 'Tragic Flaw' |url=https://loudwire.com/protest-the-hero-interview-rody-walker-trump-greatness-america-flaw/ |access-date=October 27, 2020 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Slingerland |first=Calum |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Protest the Hero Give American History a Scathing Rewrite on 'Palimpsest' |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/protest_the_hero_palimpsest_album_review |access-date=October 27, 2020 |website=exclaim.ca |language=en-ca}}</ref>

The [[Washington Nationals]] baseball club uses large [[foam rubber]] depictions of the "Rushmore Four" in both their marketing campaigns and in a series of in-stadium promotions such as the [[Presidents Race]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 21, 2019 |title=The history of the Nationals Presidents Race: Who is winning and why |url=https://www.wusa9.com/article/sports/mlb/the-nats-presidents-race-explained/65-49b98b6c-b1c4-4afa-b222-3af5349ecefd |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023104442/https://www.wusa9.com/article/sports/mlb/the-nats-presidents-race-explained/65-49b98b6c-b1c4-4afa-b222-3af5349ecefd |archive-date=October 23, 2019 |website=wusa9.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=October 3, 2012 |title='Teddy' wins for 1st time in 534 races |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8457719/teddy-mascot-wins-washington-nationals-presidents-race |access-date=July 3, 2025 |publisher=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
{{Main|Mount Rushmore in popular culture}}
[[File:North_by_Northwest_movie_trailer_screenshot_(28).jpg|thumb|250x250px|Roger Thornhill ([[Cary Grant]]) and Eve Kendall ([[Eva Marie Saint]]) dangle precipitously from the sculpture of George Washington in the 1959 film ''[[North by Northwest]]''.]]
[[File:North by Northwest trailer (1959).webm|thumb|thumbtime=1:46|The film trailer for ''North by Northwest'' prominently features the site and sculpture.]]
Mount Rushmore has been depicted in multiple films, comic books, and television series.<ref name="Gunderson">{{Cite book |last=Gunderson |first=Jessica |title=Mount Rushmore: Myths, Legends, and Facts |date=July 1, 2014 |publisher=Capstone |isbn=978-1-4914-0208-5 |pages=28 |language=en |chapter=Mount Rushmore Today |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M8otBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 }}</ref><ref name="Knight">{{Cite book |last=Knight |first=Gladys L. |title=Pop Culture Places: An Encyclopedia of Places in American Popular Culture [3 volumes] |date=August 11, 2014 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-39883-4 |pages=623 |language=en |chapter=Mount Rushmore |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kheDBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA623 }}</ref> Its functions vary from [[Setting (narrative)|settings]] for action scenes to the site of hidden locations.<ref name="Gunderson" /> Its most famous appearance is as the location of the final [[chase scene]] in the 1959 film ''[[North by Northwest]].''<ref name="Knight" /><ref name="VisitTheUSA">{{Cite web |last=Powell |first=Laura |title=Mount Rushmore on the Big Screen |url=https://www.visittheusa.com/experience/mount-rushmore-big-screen |access-date=May 14, 2022 |website=Visit The USA |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Freund |first=Charles Paul |date=2003 |title=Big schlock candy Mountain: the many meanings of Mount Rushmore |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Big+schlock+candy+Mountain%3A+the+many+meanings+of+Mount+Rushmore....-a096644882 |magazine=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] }}</ref><ref name="Parks2"/> It is used as a secret base of operations by the protagonists in the 2004 film ''[[Team America: World Police]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=9 Famous Pop Culture Spots in the USA You Don't Want to Miss |url=https://www.visittheusa.com/experience/9-famous-pop-culture-spots-usa-you-dont-want-miss |access-date=May 21, 2022 |website=Visit The USA |language=en |quote=A variety of films and television shows suggest Mount Rushmore's use as a secret hideout for the government such as in "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and "Team America: World Police." }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Honeycutt |first=Kirk |date=October 15, 2019 |title='Team America: World Police': THR's 2004 Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/team-america-world-police-review-movie-2004-1247989/ |access-date=May 14, 2022 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US }}</ref> and the secret underground city of [[Seven Cities of Gold|Cíbola]] is located there in the 2007 film ''[[National Treasure: Book of Secrets]]''.<ref name="Gunderson" /><ref name="Knight" /><ref name="VisitTheUSA" /> In the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode ''Candace Loses Her Head'', both Phineas and Ferb sculpt Candace's face on the monument for her 15th birthday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 30, 2015 |title=The subversive non-subversiveness of "Phineas and Ferb" |url=https://decentfilms.com/articles/phineasandferb |access-date=August 5, 2024 |language=en-US }}</ref> In some films, the presidential faces are replaced with others;<ref name="Gunderson" /> examples include the 1980 film ''[[Superman II]]'' and the 1996 film ''[[Mars Attacks!]]'' where the villains add their faces to the monument, and the 2003 film ''[[Head of State (2003 film)|Head of State]]'' where the newly elected president's face is added.<ref name="VisitTheUSA" /><ref name="Doss" /> In works showing attacks on landmarks to signify the scope of a threat, Mount Rushmore is a common target; examples include the aforementioned facial replacements in ''Superman II'' and ''Mars Attacks!'' as well as natural disasters in works like the 2006 miniseries ''[[10.5: Apocalypse]]'' and terrorist attacks as in the 1997 film ''[[The Peacekeeper]]''.<ref name="Doss">{{Cite book |last=Doss |first=Erika |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-RiQiBwzFCcC&pg=PA57 |title=Memorial Mania: Public Feeling in America |date=September 7, 2012 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-15939-3 |pages=57 |language=en |author-link=Erika Doss }}</ref> An atypical representation of the monument appears in the 2013 film ''[[Nebraska (film)|Nebraska]]'', where instead of being treated with reverence it is criticized for being unfinished.<ref name="VisitTheUSA" /><ref name="Metz">Walter Metz, "[https://muse.jhu.edu/article/565609 Review: Nebraska. Dir. Alexander Payne. Paramount Vantage, 2013]". ''Middle West Review'' Volume 1, Number 1, (University of Nebraska Press, Fall 2014), p. 154–55.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Crazy Horse Memorial]], another large sculpture in the Black Hills
* [[List of colossal sculpture in situ|List of colossal sculpture ''in situ'']]
* [[List of national memorials of the United States]]
* [[List of sculptures of presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of statues of Abraham Lincoln]]
* [[List of statues of George Washington]]
* [[List of statues of Thomas Jefferson]]
* [[List of tallest statues]]
* [[Presidential memorials in the United States]]
* [[Young Mao Zedong statue|''Young Mao Zedong'' statue]], a large relief carved of granite, although not carved into the rock
* ''[[Atatürk Mask]]'', a large relief sculpture, although not carved into the rock

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Coutant, Arnaud (2014). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20160311133645/http://www.mareetmartin.com/livre/_les-visages-de-l-amerique Les Visages de l'Amérique, les constructeurs d'une démocratie fédérale]'' (archived link). Mare et Martin ({{ISBN|978-2-84934-160-5}}). French study about the four presidents, life, presidency, influence about American political evolution.
* {{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Matthew |year=2025 |title=A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpk2EQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false |edition=First hardcover |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=9781250285102 |oclc=1478323619}}
* {{Cite web |last=Del Bianco |first=Lou |title=Luigi Del Bianco: chief stone carver on Mount Rushmore, 1933–1940 |url=http://www.luigimountrushmore.com |publisher=Lou Del Bianco |access-date=January 27, 2013}}
* {{Cite news |last=Dobrzynski |first=Judith H. |date=July 15, 2006 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115290739146207240?mod=todays_us_pursuits |title=A Monumental Achievement |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=January 27, 2013}}
* [[Jesse Larner|Larner, Jesse]] (2002). ''Mount Rushmore: An Icon Reconsidered''. New York: Nation Books.
* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington, D.C.: [[United States Department of the Interior]]. {{oclc|53228516}}.
* {{Cite web |title=Untold Stories Discussion Guide: Baker and Mount Rushmore |url=http://www-tc.pbs.org/nationalparks/media/pdfs/untold_stories_mount_rushmore.pdf |work=[[The National Parks: America's Best Idea]] |publisher=[[PBS]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018095719/http://www-tc.pbs.org/nationalparks/media/pdfs/untold_stories_mount_rushmore.pdf |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |url-status=dead |ref=none}}
* {{Cite web |title=The Six Grandfathers Before It Was Known as Mount Rushmore |url=https://blog.nativehope.org/six-grandfathers-before-it-was-known-as-mount-rushmore |website=Native Hope |access-date=April 2, 2021 |ref=none}}
* {{Cite web |title=Making Mount Rushmore |url=http://www.ohranger.com/mount-rushmore/making-mount-rushmore |work=Oh, Ranger! |publisher=APN Media |access-date=January 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120074710/http://www.ohranger.com/mount-rushmore/making-mount-rushmore |archive-date=November 20, 2012}}
* {{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Rex Alan |date=2011 |title=The Carving of Mount Rushmore |location=New York |publisher=Abbeville Press |isbn=978-0-7892-6008-6 |oclc=784885603}}
* Taliaferro, John (2002). ''Great White Fathers: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore''. New York: PublicAffairs. {{ISBN|978-1-58648-205-3}}.

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|d=y|c=Category:Mount Rushmore National Memorial|voy=Mount Rushmore National Memorial|v=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|n=no|wikt=Mount Rushmore|s=no|b=no}}
* {{Official website | https://www.nps.gov/moru/index.htm}}

{{Mount Rushmore}}
{{List of official United States national symbols}}
{{Gutzon Borglum}}
{{Black Hills, South Dakota}}
{{George Washington}}
{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{Theodore Roosevelt}}
{{Abraham Lincoln}}
{{United States topics}}
{{NRHP in Pennington County, South Dakota}}
{{Protected areas of South Dakota}}
{{Mountains of South Dakota}}
{{Sculptures}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Rushmore}}
[[Category:Mount Rushmore| ]]
[[Category:1941 in South Dakota]]
[[Category:1941 sculptures]]
[[Category:Abraham Lincoln in art]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Black Hills]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Theodore Roosevelt]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:George Washington in art]]
[[Category:Granite sculptures in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Great Sioux War of 1876]]
[[Category:Landforms of Pennington County, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials completed in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Abraham Lincoln in the United States]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to George Washington in the United States]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson]]
[[Category:Mountains of South Dakota|Rushmore]]
[[Category:National memorials of the United States]]
[[Category:National Park Service areas in South Dakota]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Pennington County, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Presidential memorials in the United States]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Pennington County, South Dakota]]
[[Category:Rock formations of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Sculptures by Gutzon Borglum]]
[[Category:Sculptures in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Sculptures of presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Symbols of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Unfinished sculptures]]