Where the Cherokee lived
Where people of the Cherokee nation lived, in what is now North and South Carolina and Georgia, was a great place to live. It never got very cold – even in winter it hardly ever snowed – and it never got that hot either. In the summer, it did get pretty humid, as it does now. There was plenty of water, all year round.
Cherokee summer and winter houses
More about the Cherokee
Native American history facts
Allegheny river and Appalachian mountains
Mostly Cherokee people lived in the pine forests, along the Allegheny river and other smaller rivers, and up in the Appalachian mountains.
Where are the Appalachian mountains?
There were plenty of deer and small animals like rabbits and squirrels to hunt, and lots of fish in the rivers. The Cherokee built fishing weirs – little dams – to create ponds that made it easier for them to catch fish in the rivers. Along the coast, you could gather shellfish like clams and mussels and oysters, and soft-shell crabs, too.
The history of fishing
Climate change and the Cherokee
But the climate didn’t always stay the same. Around 800 AD, there was a global warming period we call the Medieval Warm Period.
What was the Medieval Warm Period?
The weather got warmer than it had been before. Summers were hotter, and it snowed less in the winter. The Iroquois moved further north, and maybe the Cherokee did too.
The Cherokee’s neighbors: the Iroquois
The Little Ice Age
Then around 1300, the earth cooled down again, starting the Little Ice Age. Winters got tougher. The Iroquois moved further south, where they probably got into fights with the Cherokee about land.
What else happened during the Little Ice Age?
Did you find out what you wanted to know about the Cherokee environment? Let us know in the comments!
Thank for the info! I´m doing a school project with my BFF Abby and this is very helpful!
Hi Madeleine and Abby! I’m glad we could help! Please don’t hesitate to write with any questions and I’ll try to answer them.
What was the land li[k]e.
Pretty sure that’s in the article, Jeff, but feel free to ask a more specific question and I’ll try to answer it.
How did Cherokee survive in winter?
They had houses, and built fires, just like Europeans did at the same time. But also they lived in a part of the continent where it never got very cold in the winter. If this is part of an assignment, there’s a whole section of our Cherokee articles about their summer and winter houses.
hello karen. just wanted to say that this website was very intriguing and spectacular. thank you for the info on ceiling fans.
This site was very helpful on my project.
nothing youesfull at all in this site
Sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for! If you ask a question here I’ll try to answer it.
It doesn’t say anything about why they lived next to the river.
What do you think? What were they doing in the rivers?
how did they adapt the land? that is why i clicked on this cite
It’s in the article: “The Cherokee built fishing weirs – little dams – to create ponds that made it easier for them to catch fish in the rivers. “
i was doing a project and this gave me all the information very helpful.
nice
it n3evr told me if they used differnt ashelter dpending on the season or weathger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!!!1!!
Hi! You need this article: https://quatr.us/nativeamerican/cherokee-architecture-native-americans.htm
Thank you for the great information about the climate! I am doing a project and needed more information for environmental interactions and this site was perfect! :)
Wonderful, Josh! I’m glad we could help. I hope your project goes great!
The atricle was helpful but I would like to know how the Cherokee used factors of their enviornmet to their advantage (e.x. the Appelachains) (Sorry about any misspellings)
Hi George!
Look again at the part of the article about fishing: that’s one way that the Cherokee used their environment to their advantage. I think this article about the Appalachian mountains will also help you out: https://quatr.us/north-america/appalachian-mountains-north-america.htm
thank you it was very helpful but what was the climate hot cold humid???
It changed depending on the time of year! You can’t sum up the climate in one word. But yes, it would have been humid in the summer.
Why doesn’t it have anything about the climate? The only thing it had was about the environment, and I am trying to do homework here.
Hi! There are several paragraphs about the climate. What was your question? Maybe I can answer it here.
I also found this very helpful!
– DD, seeyourweather.com
This was a good sight and I am also doing a project on the cherokee tribe
i think this site can be helpful i appreciate the effort you put forth to am doing a project on the Cherokee. this site was helpful thank you
I’m glad to hear we were able to help you! Best of luck on your project – I’m sure it will be great!
this doesent give me enough info about the climate
What did you want to know? I can try to answer your question here.
omg this is horrible bleh
Sorry you didn’t like it! What should we be doing differently?
Thank you for the very helpful information, I am doing a research project about the Cherokee tribe and this website is helping me do a lot of my research… all of them are!!!
:D Thanks again ~Marta
Wow, that’s great! Thanks for writing to let us know, Marta! I’m sure your project will turn out great.
This is very helpful, thanks!!!
Verry helpful got a lot of good information