Mount Rushmore

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial featuring a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe Pahá, or Six Grandfathers Mountain) in the Black Hills, about 2 mi (3 km) southwest of Keystone, South Dakota, United States. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, named it the Shrine of Democracy, and oversaw the execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features 60-foot-tall (18 m) depictions of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, respectively chosen to represent the nation's foundation, expansion, development, and preservation. Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually to the memorial park which covers 1,278 acres (2.00 sq mi; 517 hectares).

Mount Rushmore is 3.7 mi (6.0 km) east-northeast of the summit of Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak), the highest point in the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore is considered part of the Black Elk Range (formerly the Harney Range) in treatments that distinguish that subrange of the Black Hills. Its elevation at its highest point is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.

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 West heroes, such as Lewis and Clark, their expedition guide Sacagawea, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Borglum, arguing that the sculpture should be national in scope rather than regional, convinced them to choose the four presidents instead.