Beaver Moon: November's full moon

Where the name Beaver Moon comes from

Most sources agree the name is about beavers getting ready for winter. They differ on the human story behind it.

The beavers’ side. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (New Hampshire) says this is when beavers finish their winter preparations and retreat into their lodges. The Farmers’ Almanac, a separate publication based in Maine, describes beavers working hard as ponds and streams start to freeze.

Who used the name. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls Beaver Moon a Native American term that the explorer Jonathan Carver heard in the 1760s. Carver was a colonial traveler writing in English about names he heard in other languages. His account helps date the name, but it does not say which nation used it or how widely.

The trappers’ side. Smithsonian Magazine puts more weight on people than on beavers. It notes that this time of year, when beavers move into their lodges, was historically a high point of North America’s beaver-trapping season and fur trade. Smithsonian also quotes Arlene B. Hirschfelder and Martha Kreipe de Montaño, authors of The Native American Almanac. They write that moon names came from the cycles of climate, plants and animals, and that the names varied from region to region with environment and latitude.

That last point applies to every name on the popular list. Almanacs assembled it from Indigenous, colonial and European sources and matched each name to a Gregorian month. There was no single Native American list. The full moon names overview has more detail.

Other names for November’s full moon

The Old Farmer’s Almanac attributes these names to specific nations. We give its attributions without independent confirmation.

• Frost Moon: Cree and Assiniboine.
• Freezing Moon: Anishinaabe.
• Deer Rutting Moon: Dakota and Lakota.
• Digging Moon or Scratching Moon: Tlingit.
• Whitefish Moon: Algonquin, in the almanac’s wording.

Indian Country Today (ICT), a Native-run news outlet, gives the Ojibwe name Gashkadino-giizis, the Ice Is Forming Moon. Freezing Moon also appears in the almanac’s October list for the Ojibwe. The freeze arrives at different times in different places, and the names follow it.

ICT’s lists add a few contrasts. Its Dakota name for November, Thahé čapšúŋ wí, means Deer Shedding Antlers Moon, a name the almanac puts in December. The Oneida name translates as “They Give Thanks,” and the 1890s Cherokee seminary calendar gives Big Moon.

What makes the Beaver Moon notable

November’s full moon comes in late autumn, and it is climbing back up the sky. A full moon sits opposite the Sun. As the November Sun sinks lower, the full moon rides higher and stays up longer, a preview of the high winter moons.

November is also one of the four months that can hold a seasonal Blue Moon. Sky & Telescope’s history of the term explains that under the old Maine Farmers’ Almanac rule, the third full moon in an autumn with four full moons was the Blue Moon. That can only happen in November for the autumn season. The table above flags any seasonal Blue Moon, supermoon or micromoon among the coming Beaver Moons.

A bright moon in mid-November also affects the Leonid meteor shower, which peaks mid-month. When the two are close, moonlight hides the fainter Leonids.

How to watch the Beaver Moon

The table above lists moonrise for major cities on the best evening. In November, the full moon rises close to sunset, and sunsets come early. That makes it easy to catch moonrise before dinner.

Just after rising, the Moon looks oversized and orange. NASA calls the size effect the Moon illusion. Photographs show the Moon is no wider at the horizon than overhead. The cause is still debated, but one leading idea is that our brains judge the Moon’s size against the trees and buildings around it. The orange tint is real. It comes from the long path the moonlight takes through the air near the horizon.

Bare November trees make good foreground silhouettes for a moonrise photo. Use a telephoto lens or a phone’s zoom, and set the exposure for the bright Moon, not the dark landscape.