Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
Right Place, Right Time
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Crazy Horse sculpture from Route 16. |
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The Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black hillsof South Dakota is open
the first weekend in June for a Volksmarch. In 2002 I was lucky enough
to be there at the right time.
Think nobody would come all the way from Rapid City to do the hike? Guess again! |
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"Volksmarch" is German for "People's March." It's a popular custom in Europe, where swarms of hikers turn out for group hikes, but isn't as well known in the U.S. |
The Way Up
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That's not shrubbery on the arm - it's people, from end to end. That's how popular this event is. |
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This may be art but it's also heavy engineering. A service road leading to the sculpture. |
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Participants checking in at a checkpoint.
Below: views of the memorial. The face is done and the arm and horse's head are being outlined and roughed in. |
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What You Don't See From the Highway
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View From the Top
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Geology of the Memorial
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Contrast between finished and rough rock |
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The memorial is geologically very similar to Mount Rushmore: a pod of granitic migmatite surrounded by schists and slates. This and many other knobs in the Black hillsstand above their surroundings because they are more resistant than the metamorphic rocks around them. |
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The hill behind (north of) the memorial is another pod of granitic migmatite that stands out in relief. |
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Left and below: close-ups of the migmatitic rocks |
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A xenolith in the migmatitic rocks. |
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Natural exposure of migmatitic rocks. |
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The contact between the migmatitic rocks and schist can be seen on the back side of Crazy Horse's head. Below are closeups of the contact. |
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Lfft: a contact between schist and granite
Below: the schists and slates that surround the monument. |
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Armpit of South Dakota
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What will eventually be a gap between Crazy Horse's arm and the mane of his horse has been roughed out. The dipping fractures are related to the foliation or grain of the migmatite |
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The Way Down
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The return via the service road east of the memorial offers clearer views of the end of the memorial than the hike up. |
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Left and below: schists on US 16-385 just outside the memorial. |
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The Visitor Center
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Visitor Center with the sculpture in the background. |
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Looking up at the peak of the tepee. |
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Left and below: The design of the sculpture with the work in progress behind it. |
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Created 7 April 2003, Last Update 06 June 2020