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.
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About This Lesson Getting Started: Inquiry Question Setting the Stage: Historical Context Locating the Site: Maps Determining the Facts: Readings Visual Evidence: Images
Putting It All Together: Activities |
How the National Register
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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