Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore is a monumental sculpture in South Dakota featuring the faces of four American presidents carved into a granite mountainside.
Carved directly into a granite mountainside using dynamite and jackhammers, this massive presidential monument took nearly fourteen years of dangerous work to complete.
Four Presidential Faces
Mount Rushmore features the carved faces of four U.S. presidents — George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln — chosen to represent significant periods of American history.
A Dangerous, Decades-Long Construction
The monument took nearly 14 years to complete, using dynamite and jackhammers to carve the massive granite sculptures, a dangerous undertaking that remarkably resulted in no worker deaths.
Built on Sacred Indigenous Land
The monument sits on land considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux, and its construction remains a significant point of historical grievance and ongoing controversy for Indigenous communities.
A Significant National Symbol
Despite this controversy, Mount Rushmore has become a significant national symbol and popular tourist destination, drawing millions of visitors annually to South Dakota.
