Going-to-the-Sun Road:
A Model of Landscape Engineering

(Historic American Engineering Record, Martin Stupich, photographer) S oaring mountain peaks, glaciers, deep-blue lakes, and lush forests of spruce, lodgepole pine, cedar, hemlock, and subalpine fir delight the senses of visitors who drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Turnouts allow visitors to relish vistas of glacier-sculpted mountains and glimpse wildlife. Before this east-west road was constructed, only a small number of people could enjoy this spectacular scenery. The construction of the Going-to-the-Sun Road, dedicated in 1933, made this splendid experience available to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to the park by car. Building this transmountain road, which was literally carved out of the precipitous mountainside for 12 of its 50-mile length, was a challenging and dangerous task. Its designers and builders learned valuable lessons that were applied to many such scenic roads to follow.

TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Maps 1. Montana 2. Glacier National Park Determining the Facts: Readings 1. Surveying Going-to-the-Sun Road 2. Building Going-to-the-Sun Road 3. Preserving the Landscape Visual Evidence: Images 1. Going-to-the-Sun Road 2. Area near Logan Pass 3. Building the Granite Creek Retaining Wall 4. Triple Arches 5. Construction Equipment 6. View of the Garden Wall 7. Going-to-the-Sun Road Putting It All Together: Activities 1. Use a Park or Preserve It? 2. Working in a Park 3. Investigating the Local Community Supplementary Resources

RELATED INFORMATION How to Use a TwHP Lesson Lessons on Related Topics TwHP Home National Register Home About the National Register How the National Register Helps Teachers Contact TwHP Glacier National Park This lesson is based on Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Going-to-the-Sun Road has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

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