Mount Rushmore a humid continental climate ("Dwb" in the Köppen climate classification). It is inside a USDA Plant Hardiness Zone of 5a, meaning certain plant life in the area can withstand a low temperature of no less than . The two wettest months of the year are May and June. Orographic lift causes brief but strong afternoon thunderstorms during the summer. Tourism is South Dakota's second-largest industry, and Mount Rushmore is the state's top tourist attraction. In 2012, 2,185,447 people visited the park. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sioux Benjamin Black Elk (son of medicine man Black Elk) was the "Fifth Face
Rushmore University 2012, both the Maine Department of Education and Oregon Office of Degree Authorization identify Rushmore as operating in the Cayman Islands and the U.S. state of Georgia. Rushmore offers all of its educational programs solely through distance education. Rushmore states that each student can design their own entire curriculum. Students are encouraged to publish their student papers on the Internet, in conventional journals or magazines, or as self-published books. Editors are employed by the institution to help improve students' written work. Rushmore promotional materials state that the "status as an author" that results from these publications gives its alumni "greater