Yellow fall color at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, built 1927–1941. Keystone, Black Hills, South Dakota, USA.

Yellow fall colors at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota, USA. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed and oversaw the project 1927–1941, with help from his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). South Dakota historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills in order to promote tourism. Robinson's initial idea of sculpting the Needles was rejected by Gutzon Borglum due to poor granite quality and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, and Borglum decided on the four presidents. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding ended construction in late October 1941. Mount Rushmore is a batholith (massive intrusive igneous rock) rising to 5725 feet elevation in the Black Hills.

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Filename: 1709US1-2953_Mount-Rushmore-SD.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 5472x3648 / 7.4MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; Art Work Plantae art fall foliage colors history mountain past people plants trees
Contained in galleries: 2017 Sep 21-Oct 17: CO, MO, SD, WY USA, SD: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Yellow fall colors at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, South Dakota, USA. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum designed and oversaw the project 1927–1941, with help from his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). South Dakota historian Doane Robinson conceived the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills in order to promote tourism. Robinson's initial idea of sculpting the Needles was rejected by Gutzon Borglum due to poor granite quality and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, and Borglum decided on the four presidents. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding ended construction in late October 1941. Mount Rushmore is a batholith (massive intrusive igneous rock) rising to 5725 feet elevation in the Black Hills.