MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL

national memorial (6,000 ft ) in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota, U.S., 25 mi (40 km) southwest of Rapid City. Huge sculptures of the heads of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt are carved in granite on the northeast side of Mt. Rushmore. The four heads, each about 60 ft high, represent, respectively, the nation's founding, political philosophy, preservation, and expansion and conservation. The memorial, first suggested by Jonah Robinson of the South Dakota State Historical Society, was dedicated in 1925. Work began in 1927 under Gutzon Borglum and was finished in 1941, after six and a half years of actual work. The federal government paid most of the costs. About 2,000,000 persons visit the memorial each year.