Stone Mountain Did you know?

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Stone MountainDid you know?
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Stone Mountain

• What is it?
• What is a monadnock?

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

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Stone Mountain

• When was it formed?
• How big is Stone Mountain?

• 300 million years ago
• 825 feet tall
• 6 million tons
• 583 acres of exposed area

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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 19th century

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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.

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Solution Pits
Red Moss
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The Carving
Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis
Stonewall Jackson
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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.

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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 Lees 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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Other things to do.
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