Stone Mountain Did you know Stone Mountain What

Stone Mountain Did you know?

Stone Mountain • What is it? • Billed as the largest exposed piece of granite in the world! It is actually a monadnock. What is a monadnock? • A large piece of rock exposed by erosion and standing isolated in an essentially level area.

Stone Mountain • When was it formed? • 300 million years ago • How big is Stone Mountain? • 825 feet tall • 6 million tons • 583 acres of exposed area

History of Stone Mountain Park • • 3, 200 acres Acquired by the state in 1958 Crossroads of historic Indian trails Meeting place for Creek and Cherokee tribal leaders • Tourist attraction since the 19 th century

Stone Mountains’ nature preserve • 2/3 of its land is set as a natural area • It is home to a variety of plants and animals such as Lichens and red moss. • It features “solution pits”, which are depressions in rock caused by weathering and plant acids. • The water-filled pits are home to clam shrimp, a rare invertebrate, and granite grasshoppers, another rare species.

Solution Pits Red Moss

The Carving Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee Stonewall Jackson

The Carving • It took about 60 years from idea to completion! • It is the largest high relief sculpture in the world! • It is 76 feet tall and 160 feet long. • It covers 3 acres.

The Carving timeline 1909 United Daughters of the confederacy proposes creation of a confederate monument on the mountain 1915 Gutzon Borglum draws up the first sketches for a carving 1916 Samuel Venable leases the north face of the mountain to the UDC, with the stipulation that the carving be completed in 12 years. 1923 Borglum begins work on the carving 1925 Borglum is fired after feuding with the UDC. Work begins on a new design under Augustus Lukeman. 1928 Work stops and the property reverts to the Venable family. Only Lee’s head is completed. 1958 The state purchases Stone Mountain and the surrounding 3, 200 acres. 1964 Work resumes under Walker Hancock and Roy Faulkner on a smaller design. 1970 May 9 the carving is dedicated.

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