The term 'PEAK IN THE BLACK HILLS' is referring to Mount Rushmore, an iconic landmark located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The 8-letter solution for this crossword is 'RUSHMORE', which is the name of the mountain. Mount Rushmore is a granite sculpture depicting the faces of four former United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. It was carved by Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln Borglum between 1927 and 1941.