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
Mount Rushmore in popular culture secret base inside Mount Rushmore. In "", it is the secret base of operations for the protagonists. In the film, the base, along with the sculptures on the surface, are severely damaged in a suicide bombing by Michael Moore. In the universe of the "Ben 10" franchise, Mount Rushmore is the location of the main Plumbers (a sort of intergalactic police force) complex, and plays a key role in multiple episodes of the series, including "Secrets," "Truth", the "Ben 10,000" episodes, and "Ben 10 vs. The Negative 10." The monument is inadvertently destroyed by Upchuck in the latter episode, during