Stone Mountain Trivia Quiz

Answer: molten magma attempting to erupt

Stone Mountain in Georgia, USA is known as a pluton, which means that molten magma cooled slowly beneath the earth's surface and then crystallized, pushing the resultant intrusive rock above the surface. Since Stone Mountain is largely composed of granite and related rock types, such as quartz and monzonite, it may very well be the largest exposed piece of granite in the world, although this bold statement was first generated by granite companies and the first Stone Mountain Park administrators.

At any rate, it is in fact extremely tall for a single rock, peaking at 1,686 feet above sea level with a circumference of over five miles at its base!

It also runs approximately 5-10 miles deep, in places.

Answer: rock pools that gather rainwater provide a habitat for them

Erosion has caused numerous water pools on top of the mountain, and the shrimp-like creatures reside in those, but only in the rainy seasons. Amazingly, the tiny shrimp eggs can withstand up to seven years of drought, and can spring to life once rains begin!

Georgia's climate has seldom, if ever, been that dry. The erosion on top of the mountain has been caused by winds that race above the relatively flat surface of the summit and that, coupled with rain over the centuries, has created the pools in which these tiny creatures thrive.

Answer: Georgia oak

The Georgia Oak, also known as the Stone Mountain Oak, is a rare deciduous tree, meaning its leaves fall off in the cooler months, as opposed to an evergreen oak like the live oak of coastal regions of the U.S.

North America has the largest number of species of oak in the world, with the Georgia Oak being its most rare species.

The Confederate Daisy, also called The Stone Mountain Daisy, is an even rarer species associated with the mountain. This flower, which was discovered growing in the shallow soil of the granite outcrops in 1846, blooms in autumn and its only known habitat on Earth is within a 60 mile radius of Stone Mountain.

Answer: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

The sculptures of C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, along with their horses (Blackjack, Traveller and Little Sorrell), are displayed on the side of Stone Mountain.

The sculpture was begun in 1916, but was not completed until 1972 due to numerous delays. The first man commissioned to do the job, Gutzon Borglum, stopped work only to later be hired to carve the presidential carvings at Mount Rushmore. Three other men, Augustus Lukeman, Walker Hancock and Roy Faulkner, were hired at various times, and each of them contributed towards finalizing the project.

The entire carving takes up the equivalent of three acres of space on the side of Stone Mountain and looms over 400 feet above the surrounding grounds of the park.

Answer: George Washington

George Washington initiated peace talks at Stone Mountain in 1790. His hopes were to negotiate a peace treaty with the Native American Creek and Cherokee tribes and to avert bloodshed. These hopes were dashed, however, after a series of skirmishes and wars between European settlers and the indigenous people occurred in the area.

As a result of these wars, the Creek eventually had to cede their lands around Stone Mountain to the state of Georgia in 1821.

Spanish explorers first "discovered" Stone Mountain in 1597, after they had been told of a very high mountain that lay inland from their initial exploratory probes into Georgia.

Answer: Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia lies approximately 20 miles southwest of the city of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Stone Mountain and its park are just outside the city limits. Spectacular panoramic views from the top of the mountain are available all around.

On occasion, depending on weather conditions, Kennesaw Mountain on the northwest side of Atlanta can be seen, as well as the southern portions of the Appalachian Mountain chain when looking north.

Answer: $48,000.00

The Venable brothers purchased Stone Mountain in its entirety for the tidy sum of $48,000.00 in 1887. They owned rock quarries, and the granite mountain must have seemed awfully appealing to them for the purposes they had in mind.

During the time of their ownership, a resurgence in the Ku Klux Klan, an extremist group that touted the principle of white supremacy and practiced its own brand of terrorism, held rallies at Stone Mountain.

The very first cross-burning as intended to intimidate others was initiated by the Klan and took place on the summit of Stone Mountain in 1915.

Answer: cable car

The Skyride is a Swiss-built cable car or air tram ride that enables guests to use less exertion as they seek to get atop Stone Mountain. The cable car passes directly in front of the bas relief carving that is emblazoned across the north side of the mountain.

The Walk Up Trail is steep, but affords breathtaking views that hikers can enjoy as they travel a little over a mile to the summit.

The Cherokee Trail is longer (about five miles in length) as it winds around the base of the mountain, but one mile of this trail crosses the Walk Up Trail as it also reaches the top of Stone Mountain.

The Nature Garden Trail covers nearly a mile through native forest lands, and The Songbird Habitat Trail actually consists of two separate trails that loop around for a mile in length.

Answer: 1830s

The quarrying of granite began on Stone Mountain in the 1830s, but it did not become a major industry until a railroad spur was completed to Stone Mountain in 1847.

Unfortunately, an adverse effect of the rock quarries was that of the destruction of geological features of the mountain, including that of the "Devil's Crossroads" that had been located on top of the mountain.

Devil's Crossroads was the name given to a feature that included a huge flat boulder that was nearly 200 yards across and 5-10 feet thick. It was split by two straight lines that ran east-west and north-south. The cracks joined in the center of the boulder, and at that point, another boulder about 20 feet across lay in the center of the cracks.

Two of Georgia's Native American tribes, the Cherokee and the Creek, have long been associated with this odd geological set of markings.

Answer: There is no certainty as to its origins

In June 1822, a minister named Rev. Francis R. Goulding discovered a rock wall which he described as being "about breast high, built of loose fragmentary stone, and evidently meant for a military fortification". His description continued with, "The only place of entrance was by a natural doorway under a large rock so narrow and so low that only one man could enter at a time, by crawling on his hands and knees".

The history of the mysterious wall was so obscure in purpose (perhaps serving as a military fort or even something ceremonial in nature) that even the native Creek and Cherokee had no idea who had constructed it either, merely referring to the original builders as "the old ones".