The Cherokee County Alabama map is best read as a lake-and-mountain county with several different edge conditions. Centre anchors the interior, Leesburg and Cedar Bluff sit on opposite sides of the Weiss Lake system, Gaylesville and Broomtown lead toward the northeastern DeKalb and Georgia side, and Spring Garden marks the southeastern border country.
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Download the Cherokee County map
Open the article graphic as a JPG when you need the county outline, lake-area labels, and border relationships outside the webpage.
- Map file: Cherokee County map
- File format: JPG
- Coverage: County boundary and selected labeled places
Quick Facts
| State | Alabama |
|---|---|
| County | Cherokee County |
| County seat | Centre |
| 2025 population estimate | 26,413 |
| 2020 land area | 553.52 sq mi |
| Major waters | Weiss Lake, Coosa River, Little River |
| Key places | Centre, Cedar Bluff, Leesburg, Gaylesville, Sand Rock, Spring Garden |
| File format | JPG |
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 26,413 residents as of July 1, 2025, up 5.7 percent from the 2020 estimates base. The 2020 census counted 24,971 residents on 553.52 square miles of land, for a density of 45.1 people per square mile. Settlement is distributed among the lake shore, small municipalities, rural valleys, and the Georgia-facing side of the county rather than concentrated in one continuous urban corridor.
What the Map Shows
Centre is the county seat and the main inland anchor. Leesburg lies northwest of Centre, while Cedar Bluff is farther northeast, with broad arms of Weiss Lake separating and surrounding these communities. The three labels make more sense when the reservoir is treated as part of the county’s internal geography rather than as empty space between towns.
Gaylesville and Broomtown occupy the northeastern side toward DeKalb County and the Georgia line. Census geography groups much of this area within the Cedar Bluff–Gaylesville county subdivision, which reinforces the fact that the northeastern corner operates as a distinct rural and border-oriented zone rather than an extension of Centre.
Spring Garden lies in the southeastern part of the county, close to Cleburne County and Georgia. Piedmont appears at the southern edge because the place crosses the Calhoun–Cherokee boundary. Its label therefore has to be read together with the county line; the presence of a city name does not mean the entire municipality lies inside Cherokee County.
The same warning applies in the northwest. The 2020 Census geographic reference map shows portions of Sand Rock and Collinsville along the Cherokee–DeKalb boundary. Those cross-county places are especially valuable on a reference map because they reveal where municipal geography and county geography overlap instead of matching neatly.
County Layout and Location
Cherokee County occupies Alabama’s northeastern corner region. DeKalb County is to the north, Etowah County to the west, Calhoun and Cleburne counties to the south, and Georgia’s Chattooga and Floyd counties to the east. That border position ties local travel not only to Fort Payne and Gadsden but also to Rome, Georgia and other communities across the state line.
Weiss Lake is the dominant internal feature. Outdoor Alabama describes it as an approximately 30,200-acre Alabama Power hydroelectric reservoir on the Alabama–Georgia border. Its irregular shoreline and river arms divide routes between Centre, Leesburg, Cedar Bluff, and the northern countryside, so straight-line distance alone is a poor guide to local travel.
The eastern side rises into the Lookout Mountain and Appalachian foothill landscape. Little River flows across the top of Lookout Mountain, cuts through Little River Canyon, leaves the high country at Canyon Mouth Park, and then continues toward Weiss Lake. The county therefore links a mountain river and deep canyon directly to the Coosa River reservoir system below.
Local Context
Cherokee County was created by the Alabama legislature on January 9, 1836. The county government identifies the name with the Cherokee people and the land cession associated with the Treaty of New Echota in late 1835. Centre remains the county-seat community and the location of the county commission and major administrative offices.
Weiss Lake reshaped the modern county around water access. Alabama’s fisheries agency describes the reservoir as about 30,200 acres and notes numerous public access areas, marinas, campgrounds, lodging properties, and shoreline services. That concentration explains why Leesburg, Cedar Bluff, and Centre are commonly discussed together even though they occupy different sides of the lake system.
Little River Canyon creates the opposite landscape. The National Park Service describes Little River as an unusual mountaintop river and notes canyon depths exceeding 600 feet in some sections. The river travels through the preserve before calming below Canyon Mouth Park and flowing to Weiss Lake, creating a direct hydrologic link between the county’s rugged eastern uplands and its broad reservoir basin.
These features divide Cherokee County into recognizable subregions: lake-centered communities around Centre, Leesburg, and Cedar Bluff; a northeastern Broomtown–Gaylesville border belt; the Spring Garden side toward Georgia and Cleburne County; and the highland landscape connected to Little River Canyon. The contrast is strong enough that a single county outline contains several distinct travel and terrain patterns.
Ways to Use This Map
Start with Centre, then place Leesburg to the northwest and Cedar Bluff to the northeast. Next move outward to Gaylesville and Broomtown in the northeast and Spring Garden in the southeast. Once those anchors are established, the Weiss Lake shoreline explains why some places that look close on a county outline are separated by water or indirect road routes.
For boundary work, focus on Sand Rock, Collinsville, and Piedmont because Census mapping shows those places crossing county lines. For physical geography, trace Little River from Lookout Mountain and Canyon Mouth Park toward Weiss Lake, then connect the reservoir to the Coosa River system. These two reading methods expose details that would disappear in a generic list of towns.
- Compare Centre, Leesburg, and Cedar Bluff around Weiss Lake.
- Use Gaylesville and Broomtown to orient the northeastern border area.
- Read Spring Garden and Piedmont against the southeastern county line.
- Check Sand Rock, Collinsville, and Piedmont against Census boundary mapping when municipal limits matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the map show every city and community?
No. The graphic uses a selective label set. Census county-subdivision mapping and ALDOT road mapping add many smaller localities and make it possible to distinguish Centre, Leesburg, Cedar Bluff–Gaylesville, and Spring Garden subregions in greater detail.
Can the map be printed?
The JPG works with standard image and document software. If the shoreline around Weiss Lake or smaller place labels need to remain readable on a large sheet, compare the source pixel dimensions with the intended enlargement before printing.
What does the download include?
The button opens the Cherokee County graphic as a separate JPG. Saving that file isolates the map from webpage navigation and surrounding interface elements, which is preferable when the image will be inserted into another document or archived locally.
Related Alabama County Maps
- Chilton County Map | I-65 Growth, Peach Country, and Five Community Labels
- Choctaw County Map | Mississippi Border Communities and the Tombigbee River
- Clarke County Map | River Boundaries, Jackson, and Eight Community Labels
- Clay County Map | Ashland, Lineville, and Talladega National Forest
Sources
- Cherokee County Commission official website
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
- 2020 Census Geographic Areas Reference Map
- Outdoor Alabama: Weiss Lake
- National Park Service: Little River Canyon
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