17 Mind Blowing Facts About Mount Rushmore

5 Mind Blowing Facts About Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore, located in South Dakota, is possibly one of the most famous landmarks in the world.

The four Presidents’ heads have made history with their iconic carvings, but who decided to create this monumental work and why?

Here are 17 mind-blowing facts about Mount Rushmore that you should know.

Dynamite was used to remove the excess rock.

When you want to sculpt into a rock face, hammers and chisels will take you a long time.

A total of 90% of the granite that needed removing was done by dynamite.

That might seem a bit extreme, but dynamite was the most effective and quickest way to get rid of unwanted granite.

Gutzon Borglum, the head sculptor, decided to get a munitions expert on the team to help plan where the dynamite should be placed.

The expert marked out where to drill holes for the explosives to be placed. The dynamite was always set off when the workers were off-site.

Around 450,000 tonnes of granite needed to be removed.

Scaffolding was set up for workers to carve the sculpture into the rock face. Hoists were set up with chairs attached to a 3/8 inch (0.95 cm) steel cable from which the workers would be lowered to chisel and carve out the faces.

Jackhammers, chisels, dynamite, and drills were carried with them so they could use whichever method was necessary for the part they were working on.

If the sculptures were full-bodied, instead of just heads, the Presidents would stand 465 feet (141 meters) tall!

There are four Presidents carved into Mount Rushmore.

Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were chosen as they all played essential parts in turning the USA into what it is today.

As the first President of the United States, George Washington was chosen because of his fight for American Independence in the Revolutionary War.

Thomas Jefferson was a firm believer in democracy, and this was of significant importance in creating America, while Theodore Roosevelt was selected as he was seen as a world leader and a highly influential President.

The fourth and final President, Abraham Lincoln, was chosen for his part in abolishing slavery in the United States.

Mount Rushmore took 14 years to sculpt.

The project was approved in March 1925, but work didn’t begin until October 1927. Because the sculptures would sit 60 feet (18.28 meters) high, much preparation was needed to start construction.

The task was epic, and sculptor Gutzon Borglum knew it would take many years due to the scale.

The main reason why the project finished 14 years after construction in 1941 was because of funding issues.

A lack of funding meant that added features could not be done, so the project was concluded once the heads were complete.

Various collectible memorabilia has been created for Mount Rushmore.

To commemorate the birthdays of Mount Rushmore, the US Post Office made one-off stamps to celebrate 25 years since the project was started on August 11, 1952.

Another specialized stamp was released in 1974 to commemorate 25 years since the completion of the project.

To mark the 50th anniversary in 1991, the United States Mint released a silver dollar.