Mount Rushmore

This passage discusses the creation of Mount Rushmore, one of the most popular landmarks in the United States.

Lexile Level: 700L

Categories: People & Places Art & Music

There are four United States president's faces carved into Mount Rushmore. The four presidents are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Mount Rushmore is one of the most popular landmarks in the United States. It is located in South Dakota. It is 6,000 feet high. Gutzon Borglum was the sculptor who oversaw the work. Borglum was born in Idaho in 1867. He was a well-known sculptor before the Mount Rushmore project. He had already done busts of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Busts are sculptures that show a person from the shoulders up. The actual sculpting work for Mount Rushmore started in 1927. Borglum died in 1941 and his son, Lincoln, took over the project. The president's faces were finished seven months after Gutzon Borglum died. Mount Rushmore was made to attract more tourists and bring people to South Dakota. The idea worked. Millions of people visit Mount Rushmore every year.