Mount Rushmore community. Recent pine beetle infestations have threatened the forest. Mount Rushmore is largely composed of granite. The memorial is carved on the northwest margin of the Black Elk Peak granite batholith in the Black Hills of South Dakota, so the geologic formations of the heart of the Black Hills region are also evident at Mount Rushmore. The batholith magma intruded into the pre-existing mica schist rocks during the Proterozoic, 1.6 billion years ago. Coarse grained pegmatite dikes are associated with the granite intrusion of Black Elk Peak and are visibly lighter in color, thus explaining the light-colored streaks on the
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