Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Black Hills of South Dakota - Mt Rushmore

WOW!!!  THESE PICTURES ARE SECTACULAR!!!  ENJOY!
The black hills of South Dakota -
Mt Rushmore


 Air Force One flying over Mount Rushmore. The entire memorial is spread out over 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km2). Photo #2 by U.S. Air Force



 Colossal granite heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are not eroding “since the estimated erosion rate is 1 inch every 10,000 years.” by National Park Service Digital Image Archives



 It took 400 workers 14 years to carve out our Founding Fathers. Photo by Zach Dischner



 Mount Rushmore during sunset, a shot of the great monument with fading sunlight behind the Black Hills. The 60-foot (18 m) sculpted heads are of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Photo #1 by Chaitanya Polumetla



 Mount Rushmore HDR. This project to carve the Presidents into Rushmore was first started to increase tourism in the Black Hills region of South Dakota and is now the top tourist location in the state. by Mike Tigas from Spokane, WA, United States



Mount Rushmore National Memorial. NPS wrote, “The figure of Thomas Jefferson was originally started on Washington’s right side. After 18 months of carving the figure of Jefferson had to be blasted off the mountain and restarted on Washington’s left side.” Photo #9 by Jim Bowen from Hope Mills NC, US




 Every year, about 3 million visitors come through this entrance to view the presidents which were sculpted by Danish-American Gutzon Borglum and his son, Lincoln Borglum. Wikipedia states, “Construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents’ faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum’s death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in late October 1941.” Photo #3 by Scott Catron



Mt. Rushmore at Night. The NPS evening lighting schedule varies throughout the year, but during the main season, NPS said from mid-May to mid-August, the sculptures are lit up at 9:00 p.m. nightly. The evening lighting starts at 8:00 p.m. from mid-August through September. by Dhaval Shreyas

 1932 picture of construction at Mount Rushmore of George Washington’s likeness. Amazingly, even with 400 workers and hanging by harnesses, there were no fatalities during construction. by Rise Studio, Rapid City, S. Dak




Construction of Mount Rushmore National Monument (MORU). Photo #33 by Charles D’Emery / NPS



 Mount Rushmore National Park ranger with Washington and Jefferson. by NPS



 Mt Rushmore detail of Abraham Lincoln’s face. CyArk states, “Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, held the nation together during its greatest trial, the Civil War. Lincoln believed his most sacred duty was the preservation of the union. It was his firm conviction that slavery must be abolished (1809-1865).” by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS


 Mt Rushmore detail on Theodore Roosevelt’s face. CyArk wrote, “Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, provided leadership when America experienced rapid economic growth as it entered the 20th Century. He was instrumental in negotiating the construction of the Panama Canal, linking the east and the west. He was known as the ‘trust buster’ for his work to end large corporate monopolies and ensure the rights of the common working man (1858-1919). by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS


 Mt. Rushmore, up-close view of Thomas Jefferson. CyArk site states, “Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, was the author of the Declaration of Independence, a document which inspires democracies around the world. He also purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 which doubled the size of our country, adding all or part of fifteen present-day states (1743-1826).” A Jefferson quote: “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”  by CyArk / Kacyra Family Foundation / NPS


 Roosevelt and Lincoln – Mt Rushmore. by Stewart Baird



Roosevelt closeup from above. “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are,” said Roosevelt. He also said, “I have always been fond of the West African proverb ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far’.”  by NPS Digital Image Archives


 View of Abraham Lincoln from on top of Mt. Rushmore. On November 19, 1863, during the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said, “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”  by Rachel.miller727


George Washington Profile closeup. Presidents Day is celebrated in honor of Washington’s birthday. When George Washington was leading the troops so America could be free of Britain’s control, he said, “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.”Photo #13 by Ed Menard Ranger / NPS


 Charles D’Emery documented the carving of Mount Rushmore for 14 years. by Charles D’Emery / NPS



 Mount Rushmore National Memorial working on Jefferson, photo by Charles D’Emery. More from NPS about the carving history: “The workers had to endure conditions that varied from blazing hot to bitter cold and windy. Each day they climbed 700 stairs to the top of the mountain to punch-in on the time clock. Then 3/8 inch thick steel cables lowered them over the front of the 500 foot face of the mountain in a ‘bosun chair’. Some of the workers admitted being uneasy with heights, but during the Depression, any job was a good job.” by Charles D’Emery / NPS


 Mount Rushmore and brave workers. by Charles D’Emery / NPS


 Mount Rushmore construction workers hanging by cables. by Charles D’Emery / NPS


Mount Rushmore, hanging in the sky, working on an eye. Not a single man or woman died during the 14 years of blasting and carving to create the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. by Charles D’Emery / NPS

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