Stone Mountain
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- This article is about Stone Mountain in Georgia, USA. For other uses, see Stone Mountain (disambiguation).
Stone Mountain is the granite dome monadnock located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. At its summit, the elevation is 1,683 feet (513 m) amsl and 825 feet (251.5 m) above the surrounding plateau. The mountain extends underground to several surrounding counties. Stone Mountain is claimed by some to be the largest exposed granite 'stone' in the world.[1]. By comparison, however, it is only about one fourth the height of El Capitan in Yosemite (3,000 feet above valley level), the tallest known exposed granite monolith on earth. [2]. Stone Mountain is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous bas-relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world.[1] Three figures of the Confederate States of America are carved there: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.
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[edit] Description
The mountain is more than five miles (8 km) in circumference at its base. The summit of the mountain can be reached by a steep walkup trail, which starts near the Confederate Hall and park entrance. Alternatively, the summit can be reached by the Skyride.
The top of the mountain is a surreal landscape of bare rock and rock pools, and it provides views of the surrounding area and the skyline of downtown Atlanta, often Kennesaw Mountain, and on very clear days even the Appalachian Mountains. On some days, however, the top of the mountain is covered in a heavy fog, and visibility can be limited to only a few feet. It is not uncommon during the summer months to find the downtown skyline almost completely obscured by smog. The clear freshwater pools of the summit are formed by rainwater gathering in eroded depressions, and are home to unusual clam shrimp and fairy shrimp. The tiny shrimp appear only during the rainy season, and it is believed that the adult shrimp die when the pools dry up, leaving behind eggs to survive until the next rains.
The mountain's lower slopes are wooded. The rare Georgia oak was first discovered at the summit, and several specimens can easily be found along the walk-up trail and in the woods around the base of the mountain. In the fall, the extremely rare Confederate Yellow Daisy (Viguiera Porteri) flowers on the mountain, growing in rock crevices and in the large wooded areas.
[edit] Geology
Stone Mountain is a pluton, a type of igneous intrusion. Primarily composed of granite, the dome of Stone Mountain was formed during the formation of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains.[citation needed] It formed as a result of the upwelling of magma from within the Earth's crust. This magma solidified to form granite within the crust below the surface.
The granite is composed of quartz, feldspar, microcline and muscovite, with smaller amounts of biotite and tourmaline. Embedded in the granite are xenoliths or pieces of foreign rocks entrained in the magma. The xenoliths of the Stone Mountain granite are composed of two types of metamorphic rocks; gneiss and amphibolite xenoliths of the country rock torn from the conduit as the granite ascended through the earth's crust. These xenoliths are generally angular, display a foliation, have feathery black amphibole and have a reaction rim of pale yellow orthoclase around them.
Other xenoliths are composed of restite and are generally rounder, lack the amphibole and reaction rims and have weaker foliation. These are cognate inclusions and were presumably the rock which the granite melted from. The presence of abundant metamorphic xenoliths and restite infers that the granite is an S-type granite formed from melting of sedimentary metamorphic rocks.
The granite displays an east-west foliation and abundant muscovite. The muscovite is probably metamorphic in origin. Late metasomatic veins of black tourmalne, K-feldspar, and amphibole are present through the granite and manifest as pale feldspar-filled fractures, often with large fans of amphibole.
The granite intruded into the metamorphic rocks of the Piedmont region during the last stages of the Alleghenian Orogeny, which was the time when North America and North Africa collided. Over time, erosion eventually exposed the present mountain of more resistant igneous rock, in processes similar to those that have exposed Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.
[edit] Carving
The largest low relief sculpture in the world, the Confederate Memorial Carving depicts three Confederate leaders of the Civil War, President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The entire carved surface measures three acres, larger than a football field. The carving of the three men towers 400 feet above the ground, measures 90 by 190 feet, and is recessed 42 feet into the mountain. The deepest point of the carving is at Lee's elbow, which is 12 feet to the mountain's surface.
In 1912, the carving existed only in the imagination of Mrs. C. Helen Plane, charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). The Venable family, owners of the mountain, deeded the north face of the mountain to the UDC in 1916. The UDC was given 12 years to complete a sizable Civil War monument. Three sculptors worked on the carving during its creation. Gutzon Borglum was hired in 1915 as the carving consultant, and in 1916 he was appointed carving sculptor by the Stone Mountain Monumental Association. Borglum envisioned a carving with seven central figures accompanied by "an army of thousands." He was not able to begin work on the carving until 1923 due to funding problems and World War I.
After blasting away large portions of the mountain with dynamite, Borglum was able to complete the head of Lee on January 19, 1924. In 1925, a dispute arose between Borglum and the managing association. As a result of the conflict, Borglum left, taking all of his sketches and models with him. Borglum went on to carve the famous Mount Rushmore sculpture in South Dakota.
Augustus Lukeman, the second sculptor, resumed work on the project in 1925. Lukeman's carving included the three central figures of the Confederacy on horseback. He removed Borglum's work from the mountain and diligently worked with pneumatic drills, but by 1928 (the original deadline) only Lee's head was complete and funds were depleted. The Venable family reclaimed their property, and the massive granite mountain remained untouched for 36 years.
In 1958, the state of Georgia purchased the mountain and the surrounding land. The Georgia General Assembly created the Stone Mountain Memorial Association. In 1960, the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial Advisory Committee was composed of six internationally known figures in the world of art. A competition was held, and nine world-renowned sculptors submitted designs for a new sculpture. In 1963, based upon recommendations by the Advisory Committee, the Stone Mountain Memorial Association chose Walker Kirkland Hancock of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to complete the carving. Work resumed in 1964, and a new technique utilizing thermo-jet torches was used to carve away the granite. Chief carver Roy Faulkner, a marine veteran with a talent for using the new thermo-jet torch, was able to remove tons of stone in one day. For over eight years Park guests could see and hear the workmen and their jet torches. The figures were completed with the detail of a fine painting. Eyebrows, fingers, buckles and even strands of hair were fine-carved with a small thermo-jet torch. The carving is actually much larger than it appears from Stone Mountain Park's attractions. Workers could easily stand on a horse's ear or inside a horse's mouth to escape a sudden rain shower. A dedication ceremony for the Confederate Memorial Carving was held on May 9, 1970. Finishing touches were completed in 1972.
On many summer nights the mountain is home to the Lasershow Spectacular which uses popular and classic music to entertain park guests with a large fireworks and laser light display. The show is a patriotic tribute to the southern United States and the country as a whole. The American Civil War is acknowledged, but the strength of a reunited country concludes the message, with Sandi Patti singing the Star Spangled Banner. There are still old favorites included with the show, “Devil Went down to Georgia”, “Celestial Soda Pop”, and “Trilogy”. There have been several additions to the show for its 25th anniversary.
[edit] History
[edit] Carving and the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan activities at Stone Mountain are deep-rooted, although the original conception of the memorial pre-dates the 1915 revival of the Klan. The revival of the Ku Klux Klan was emboldened by the release of D. W. Griffith's Klan-glorifying film The Birth of a Nation, and by the lynching of Leo Frank, who was convicted in the murder of Mary Phagan.[citation needed] On November 25, 1915, a group of robed and hooded men met at Stone Mountain to create a new incarnation of the Klan. They were led by William J. Simmons, and they included a group calling itself the Knights of Mary Phagan. A cross was burned, and the oath was administered by Nathan Bedford Forrest II, the grandson of the original Imperial Grand Wizard, Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, and was witnessed by the owner of Stone Mountain, Samuel Venable.
Fundraising for the monument resumed in 1923, and in October of that year, Venable granted the Klan easement with perpetual right to hold celebrations as they desired.[citation needed] Because of their deep involvement with the early fund-raising and their increasing political clout in Georgia, the Klan, along with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, were able to influence the ideology of the carving, and they strongly supported an explicitly Confederate memorial. Gutzon Borglum was commissioned to do the carving, and he with the Stone Mountain project. Of the $250,000 raised, part came directly from the Ku Klux Klan but part came from the federal government, which in 1924 issued special fifty-cent coins with Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson on them.
With a three-year time limit imposed on the project, Borglum set to work, and by General Lee's birthday in 1924, a formal unveiling of Lee's finished head was held. In 1925, Borglum became involved in disputes with his patrons over the coin money and his support of D. C. Stephenson, and his contract was canceled in February. Before he left Georgia, Borglum smashed his preliminary models in rage. He went on to carve Mount Rushmore.
In April 1925, Augustus Lukeman was hired to complete the work, and three years later Borglum's finished work was dynamited from the face of the mountain. Funds ran dry, however, and he had only completed Lee's head when the project was cancelled because of lateness and insufficient funds in 1928. When Lukeman died in 1935, the uncompleted project had not been worked on for several years, and the property reverted to the Venable family, the previous owners.
The state expressed an interest in the carving, the mountain and surrounding land, but it was not until April 11, 1956, that the Venable family gave the land encompassing Stone Mountain to the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial, Inc.
In 1958, at the urging of Governor Marvin Griffin, the Georgia legislature approved a measure to purchase Stone Mountain for $1,125,000. In 1963, Walker Hancock was selected to complete the carving, and work began in 1964. The carving was completed by Roy Faulkner, who later operated a museum (now closed) on nearby Memorial Drive commemorating the carving's history. The carving was considered complete[2] on March 3, 1972.
[edit] Plane crashes
On September 16, 2003, a small airplane crashed around dusk into the back of the mountain, a remote cliff area which is not normally accessible.[3] The pilot, the airplane's only occupant, was confirmed dead, and although the official accident report notes no probable cause, a witness "stated that the accident pilot threatened on multiple occasions when she knew him to commit suicide by flying into Stone Mountain." Firefighters had to take the Skyride up and then rappel more than halfway down to the site of the plane's wreckage.
According to George Weiblen's annotated calendar for Monday, May 7, 1928: "Mail plane crashed on mountain at 8:00 P.M."
The only other known crash on the mountain was in 1957.[citation needed]
[edit] Present
[edit] Park
Stone Mountain Park, which surrounds the Confederate memorial, is owned by the state of Georgia and managed by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association, a Georgia state authority. The Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation currently has a long-term contract to operate the park and its attractions.
During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Stone Mountain Park provided venues for Olympic events in archery, tennis, and cycling. The 8,200-seat tennis stadium was a permanent venue, and the venues for archery and cycling were temporary.
The Confederate Hall, operated directly by the Stone Mountain Memorial Association or SMMA, is a museum that educates park guests and local students on the geology and ecology of Stone Mountain, together with the history of the war in Georgia.
There are several hiking trails including a 1.3 mile trail from Confederate Hall to the top of Stone Mountain and a 5 mile trail around the mountain. The park also offers camping, fishing, picnic sites and golfing.
Other attractions are operated by the commercial operators, and include:
- The Skyride, a Swiss built cable-car to the summit of the mountain, passes by the carving on the way up.
- The Scenic Railroad, a standard gauge railroad that circles the entire circumference of the mountain in a loop, provides views of the mountain en route. For years the railroad utilized three authentic steam locomotives to pull trains and a diesel-powered trolley nicknamed The Dinkey. However in the mid-1980s the steam locomotives and the trolley were retired in favor of diesel locomotives, because of maintenance costs.
- The Riverboat offers a scenic cruise aboard a reproduction Mississippi riverboat on 363-acre (147 ha) Stone Mountain Lake.
- The Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard is composed of original buildings, built between 1790 and 1845, which have been re-erected here to represent a pre-Civil War Georgia plantation.
- A 732-bell carillon that originated at the 1964 New York World's Fair, provides a daily concert.
- A covered bridge, dating from 1892, which originally spanned the Oconee River in Athens, Georgia.
- A grist mill, dating from 1869 and moved to the park in 1965.
- "Crossroads", a recreation of an 1872 southern town including a modern 4-D movie theater which currently features an exploration of the history of some folk stories.
[edit] Cherokee Trail
Previously unknown to most people, there is a small wooded trail, called the Cherokee Trail, that leads down either side of the mountain. It branches off a few hundred yards from the beginning of the main trail to merge with the Connecting Trail and continues around the mountain. This trail is well marked and about 6 miles long.
[edit] Transmitter
The short broadcast tower on the top of the mountain transmits two non-commercial stations: television station WGTV channel 8, and weatheradio station KEC80. FM radio station WABE was located on this tower from 1984 until 2005, when it was required to relocate to accommodate WGTV's digital conversion.
[edit] References
- ^ "Stone Mountain", georgia.gov; retrieved February 2007
- ^ "Stone Mountain History", stonemountainpark.org; retrieved February 2007
- ^ ATL03FA140
- James W. Loewen (1999). Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong. New Press. ISBN 1-56584-344-4.
- Deborah Yost (1997). Georgia's Stone Mountain Park. Aerial Photography Services, Inc. ISBN 1-880970-11-2.
- Golden Ink (1994-2003). About North Georgia: Stone Mountain. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
- Stone Mountain Memorial Association (2005). Stone Mountain: Ecosystem. Retrieved July 30, 2005.
- United Daughters of the Confederacy(2007). Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy.
[edit] External links
- Stone Mountain article, from the New Georgia Encyclopedia
- Stone Mountain Park website, from the state authority that owns the park
- City of Stone Mountain, Georgia, from the City of Stone Mountain
- Main Street Stone Mountain
- Stone Mountain Park and City Information
- Stone Mountain Park Photos
- Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
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