Why do they call them the Great Smoky Mountains?
Why do they call them the Great Smoky Mountains? The Smokies got their name from the Cherokee people. They called it “Shaconage” (shah-con-ah-jey) which means “place of the blue smoke.” The name comes from the blue mist that floats above the peaks of the mountains. European settlers moved to the mountains in the late 1700s.
What is so special about the Great Smoky Mountains?
Called the Smokies due to the ever-present morning fog, this mountain range is world renowned for the diversity of its plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and its history of southern Appalachian mountain culture.