F48FD30D-155D-4519-3E93A383539CF0A5

Mount Rushmore before carving

A black and white photograph of the Mount Rushmore prior to any carving. The granite face of the mountain has numerous vertical cracks and crevices. The lower third of the image is covered by ponderosa pine trees.

Gutzon Borglum picked this mountain and location because the grain of the rock was suitable for carving and the mountain faced southeast which meant it would be in the sun for much of the day.

U.S. National Park Service

Permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this website. Digital assets without any copyright restrictions are public domain.

Photo courtesy of the National Park Service, photographer Rise Studios.

Public domain:Full Granting Rights

Image

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Code: MORU

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Pennington County, South Dakota
Latitude: 43.8804016113281, Longitude: -103.453002929688

NPS.gov Collection

7/16/2010 12:55:20 PM

Tuesday, January 2, 2018 12:13:06 PM

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 5:18:34 PM

F49134AF-155D-4519-3EA424B3B8300162.JPG

Monday, January 1, 0001 12:00:00 AM

jpg

1.6 MB

Scenic