memory
Mount Rushmore
Four presidential faces are carved into a mountain in the culturally significant Black Hills.
The story behind the place
Workers carved the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln into granite at Mount Rushmore between 1927 and 1941. The sculpture is also part of a contested landscape. The Black Hills hold enduring cultural and spiritual importance for Native nations, and the project disregarded the mountain’s existing significance. Reading the place means considering both the carving and the history of the land around it.
Explore on the globe →Find Mount Rushmore on the map, record the discovery in your travel journal and continue exploring nearby places.
Read more from the sources
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial Cultural LandscapeU.S. National Park Service
- Carving HistoryU.S. National Park Service
- Associated Tribal NationsU.S. National Park Service
