Mount Rushmore Quiz: Four Presidents in Stone of the USA
This Mount Rushmore quiz explores the giant mountain carving in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA, with questions on which presidents appear, sculptor Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln, the years of carving, the size of the faces, the use of dynamite, the hidden Hall of Records, the Lakota name Six Grandfathers, the Crazy Horse Memorial, North by Northwest and Jefferson's move. Ten questions.
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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds
Presidents
Which four presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore?
Sculptors
Who was the main sculptor of Mount Rushmore?
Years
Carving on Mount Rushmore took place during which years?
Size
Roughly how tall is each president's face on Mount Rushmore?
Methods
Roughly how much of the rock on Mount Rushmore was removed with dynamite?
Secrets
What lies hidden in a chamber behind the faces, in the unfinished Hall of Records?
Names
Before it was named Mount Rushmore, the Lakota knew the mountain by which name?
Memorials
Which huge mountain carving, still unfinished, is being made nearby to honor a Lakota leader?
Films
Which 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film has a famous chase across Mount Rushmore?
Changes
What happened to the first carving of Thomas Jefferson?
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Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: Which four presidents are carved on Mount Rushmore?
Answer: Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln
They were chosen to represent the birth, growth, development and preservation of the nation. Theodore Roosevelt was included for his role in expanding and protecting the country.
- Q2: Who was the main sculptor of Mount Rushmore?
Answer: Gutzon Borglum
Borglum died in 1941, months before the work ended. His son, Lincoln Borglum, oversaw the final work.
- Q3: Carving on Mount Rushmore took place during which years?
Answer: 1927 to 1941
About 400 workers took part. Remarkably, no one died during the carving. Many were local miners used to working with explosives.
- Q4: Roughly how tall is each president's face on Mount Rushmore?
Answer: About 18 meters
The noses are about 6 meters long. The faces were carved from granite at an elevation of about 1,745 meters.
- Q5: Roughly how much of the rock on Mount Rushmore was removed with dynamite?
Answer: About 90 percent
Workers called powdermen blasted away large pieces. Carvers then shaped the details by drilling and smoothing.
- Q6: What lies hidden in a chamber behind the faces, in the unfinished Hall of Records?
Answer: Panels with the text of key American documents
Borglum wanted a grand hall to store national records. In 1998, porcelain panels with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were placed inside.
- Q7: Before it was named Mount Rushmore, the Lakota knew the mountain by which name?
Answer: Six Grandfathers
The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux. The land's ownership remains a subject of legal and political debate.
- Q8: Which huge mountain carving, still unfinished, is being made nearby to honor a Lakota leader?
Answer: Crazy Horse Memorial
Work began in 1948, and the face was completed in 1998. When finished, it will be far larger than Mount Rushmore.
- Q9: Which 1959 Alfred Hitchcock film has a famous chase across Mount Rushmore?
Answer: North by Northwest
The faces were recreated in a studio for the scene. The park service did not allow filming of violent scenes on the real monument.
- Q10: What happened to the first carving of Thomas Jefferson?
Answer: It was blasted away and carved again on the other side of Washington
The rock on Washington's right side had cracks. Jefferson was carved again on Washington's left.
Mount Rushmore Quiz – Presidents Carved in Stone
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a giant sculpture carved into a granite mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. It shows the faces of four presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each face is about 18 meters tall, and the memorial attracts more than two million visitors a year.
The project was proposed by historian Doane Robinson to bring tourists to South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum chose the presidents to represent the nation's birth, growth, development and preservation. Carving began in 1927 and ended in 1941, shortly after Borglum's death. His son Lincoln Borglum oversaw the final work.
Around 400 workers built the monument, using dynamite to remove about 90 percent of the rock. They then drilled and smoothed the faces. Jefferson's first carving had to be blasted away because of cracks in the rock. Behind the faces, Borglum began a Hall of Records, which now holds panels with key American documents.
The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux, who called the mountain Six Grandfathers. The land was taken from them in the 19th century, and the memorial remains controversial. Nearby, the Crazy Horse Memorial is being carved to honor a Lakota leader.
The monument appeared in Hitchcock's North by Northwest and lights up each evening in summer.
Visitors walk the Avenue of Flags, which displays the flags of all US states and territories, and the Presidential Trail, which leads close to the base of the sculpture. The surrounding Black Hills offer scenic drives, caves and the bison herds of Custer State Park.
This quiz covers the history, carving, secrets and controversies of Mount Rushmore.
What This Quiz Teaches
This quiz is perfect for history fans, students and travelers.
- Which presidents are on Mount Rushmore and why
- Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln
- How long the carving took and how it was done
- The Hall of Records behind the faces
- The Lakota name and the Crazy Horse Memorial
- North by Northwest and Jefferson's move
Quick Facts About Mount Rushmore
- The memorial's granite erodes only about 2.5 centimeters every 10,000 years.
- The nearest town is Keystone, South Dakota.
- Borglum's original plan showed the presidents down to their waists.
- Workers rode a cable car up to the carving site each day.
- Wildlife such as mountain goats lives around the memorial.
- Rapid City is the main gateway to the Black Hills.
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