Stone Mountain Park

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park, 15 miles east of Atlanta, Georgia. Outside the park is the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. The park is the most visited tourist site in the state of Georgia. Stone Mountain, once owned by the Venable Brothers, was purchased by the state of Georgia in 1958 "as a memorial to the Confederacy". Stone Mountain Park officially opened on April 14, 1965 100 years to the day after Lincoln's assassination, although recreational use of the park had been ongoing for several years prior. The park today is owned by the state of Georgia. The mountain, which ranges in composition from quartz monzonite to granite and granodiorite, is more than 5 miles in circumference at its base. The summit of the mountain can be reached by a walk-up trail on the west side of the mountain or by the Skyride aerial tram. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet above sea level and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is well known for not only its geology, but also the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest high-relief artwork in the world. The carving, completed in 1972, depicts three Confederate leaders, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson.