Have you ever thought that in the middle of a desert, you’ll see a man-made mountain covered in a half a million gallons of latex paint? No? Well, believe it or not, it really does exist, and it is called the Salvation Mountain.
Salvation Mountain, located in the California desert, is a man-made mountain built by Leonard Knight. Knight began building the first Mountain in 1984, but shortly it fell into a heap of rubble. However, this unfortunate incident has not discouraged Knight to rebuild the mountain from his childhood. He saw this accident as God’s message that the Mountain wasn’t safe.
The second Salvation Mountain, the one currently standing, was made out of garbage: telephone poles, tires, wires etc., all mixed with cement or sand. It grew up to be 50 feet high (15 meters). But that isn’t the only specific thing about this Mountain.
Knight expressed his inner artist by painting numerous murals, Christian sayings and Bible verses. He used to spend half a day at the local dump, just to find a half a gallon of paint. However, when word spread about Knight and his “lifetime project,” people started helping him by donating paint.
Leonard Knight passed away in 2014, but his Salvation Mountain legacy is still in safe hands by a group of volunteers who still protect and maintain the site.