9 United States Rivers That Are Infested With Snakes

Travel

Published: March 21, 2024 6:42 am

It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon on the river. You’re drifting round in your large pink flamingo float, falling asleep within the heat solar whereas your hand trails alongside by the water. Now open these sleepy eyes and spot that stick floating over there by your hand. Yeah. Not a stick, my man. That’s a snake! Are you awake now?

The United States has 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams—so many that the majority Americans stay inside a mile of 1. And we take full benefit of it: boating, fishing, tubing, or swimming, and mountaineering, searching, tenting, picnicking, or working alongside the shores. But individuals aren’t the one ones residing their greatest lives on the water. Rivers present a really perfect habitat for snakes. And what’s to not like? Plenty of fish, birds, and small mammals when you could have the munchies. Nice overgrown vegetation, flood particles, and rocks to cover in, make your home, and solar your self. And, in fact, the river itself gives meals and water, a place to chill off, and a technique to get away from predators or journey rapidly downstream.

There’s an enormous argument to be made that rivers have extra of an issue with human infestations than snake infestations. But that’s one other story. What we are able to say, although, is the longer the river and the extra assorted the habitats it runs by, the bigger the variety of snake species and people you can encounter there.

So, consulting geological and herpetological sources for every area, we’ve listed the nation’s 10 longest, most snake-infested rivers. We put them in ascending order by size and have given you a pattern of a number of the sorts of snakes that stay there—a few of them fairly lethal! By the best way, you might need seen we’re itemizing the ten longest rivers, however the headline mentions simply 9 snake-infested rivers. Why? Because one of many longest rivers within the U.S. has no snakes by any means. Can you guess which one?

10. The Ohio River – 979 mi (1,575 km)

The Ohio River runs from the Appalachian Mountains and foothills throughout the Midwest to empty into the Mississippi. The local weather is temperate throughout the area, with scorching summers and chilly winters. Although this is without doubt one of the most closely populated areas of the nation, mountain foothills, forests, and agricultural land alongside the river present ample cowl for snakes. Cincinnati, nicknamed the “Queen City,” is without doubt one of the main metropolises alongside its route. Interestingly, one of many widespread semiaquatic snake species residing alongside the river is the queen snake, just like a garter snake, which feeds on crayfish.

Ohio River Snakes

These are a number of the species of snakes you would possibly encounter within the Ohio River or on its banks:

• Ribbonsnake
• Northern water snake
• Copper-bellied water snake
• Eastern fox snake
• Ohio Valley water snake
• Queen snake

9. The Snake River – 1,040 mi (1,674 km)

Originating in Wyoming and “snaking” throughout the Pacific Northwest, the Snake River is the most important tributary of the Columbia River. It wasn’t named for the presence of snakes or the sinuous path the river takes by an arid area of the nation. Instead, it bought its identify from the Snake Indian tribe that inhabited the area. It was as soon as teaming with 2 million salmon till 4 dams had been constructed that disrupted their spawning and drove them almost to extinction. Small salmon had been an essential meals supply for snakes within the area. If proposals to take away a number of of the downstream dams are accredited, the fish and the species that feed on them might rebound.

Snake River Snakes

These are a number of the slithery species you would possibly encounter on the water or the riverbanks of the Snake River:

• Western rattlesnake (Northern Pacific rattlesnake)
• Terrestrial garter snake
• Common garter snake
• Ringneck snake
• Western floor snake
• Long-nosed snake

8. The Red River – 1,125 mi (1,811 km)

The Red River of the South (to tell apart it from the Red River of the North in Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Canada) kinds a major a part of the border between Oklahoma and Texas earlier than making its technique to the Mississippi. As Texas is home to extra snakes than every other state within the nation (68 species!), the Red River is an efficient place to go if there simply should not sufficient “danger noodles” in your life. Texas is home to huge numbers of venomous copperheads and particularly rattlesnakes. If you hear anybody say they noticed a “puff adder” don’t get alarmed, although. Actual puff adders are a lethal North African species. What Americans name a “puff adder” is only a hognose snake – a innocent however melodramatic species that places on an enormous present to scare off predators and finally rolls over and performs useless if nothing else works.

Red River Snakes

Here’s a bucket checklist of snakes to identify in and across the Red River of the South:

• Copperhead
• Hognose (colloquially known as the “puff adder”)
• Timber rattlesnake
• Northern water snake
• Black racer
• Green snake
• Garter snake
• Rat snake

7. The Columbia River – 1,243 mi (2,000 km)

The Columbia River originates within the Canadian Rockies and works its manner southwest to kind the Washington-Oregon border earlier than emptying into the Pacific. The alpine heights of the mountains should not favorable to most snakes, however for many of its size, the Columbia flows by semi-arid and Mediterranean local weather zones.  One species that does thrive in alpine areas of as much as 10,000 ft (3,000 m) elevation is the rubber boa. As essentially the most docile of the boa species, the rubber boa doesn’t chew people and is commonly used to assist individuals with snake phobias grow to be comfy dealing with them.

Columbia River Snakes

Here are a number of the assorted snakes you’ll discover alongside the Columbia River:

• Garter snake
• California mountain kingsnake
• Rubber boa
• Ringneck snake
• Night snake
• Western rattlesnake (Northern Pacific rattlesnake)
• Western yellow-bellied racer

6. The Arkansas River – 1,443 mi (2,322 km)

The Arkansas River, a significant tributary to the Mississippi, has three distinct sections. In central Colorado, the place it originates, it’s a mountain river with incredible whitewater rafting. Between Cañon City and Pueblo, it slows down and traverses the Great Plains as a broad, flat, slower-moving waterway. In Oklahoma and throughout Arkansas, it turns into even wider and is contained in a channel with flooding managed by dams and levees. Even within the rugged a part of its course, snakes are capable of finding sheltered swimming pools and uncovered rocks for searching and sunning. But clearly, the slower-moving elements of the river provide many miles of riverbank teeming with amphibians, small fish, crayfish, and small animals for the eating regimen of varied species of water snakes.

Arkansas River Snakes

A great many species of water snakes make their home in and across the Arkansas River:

• Broad-banded water snake
• Diamondback water snake
• Graham’s crayfish snake
• Gulf swamp snake
• Midland water snake
• Green water snake
• Northern cottonmouth
• Plain stomach water snake
• Queen snake

5. The Colorado River – 1,450 mi (2,330 km)

The Colorado River has figured giant within the information in recent years as California and far of the remainder of the Southwest have endured a decades-long drought. Serving the water wants of seven states, it’s been known as the “hardest-working river in the West.” Along with drought situations, over-use of the water for irrigation, trade, and personal houses has triggered the water in Lake Powell and Lake Mead to drop to essential ranges.

Generally talking, so long as the river and its lakes don’t utterly dry up, snakes are capable of alter moderately to decrease water ranges, as they stay and hunt primarily alongside the banks. If it drops too rapidly for vegetation to regulate, nevertheless, crops rising alongside the earlier water stage could dry up and die earlier than new vegetation has been capable of colonize the newly uncovered decrease banks. This could cause a deficit of meals and shelter for some prey species, equivalent to rodents or fish that stay in shady shallows, and the snakes that feed on them.

Colorado River Snakes

These are a number of the many snake species with habitats alongside the Colorado River:

• Bullsnake
• Common garter snake
• Rattlesnake
• Great Basin gopher snake
• Great Plains rat snake
• Tantilla hobartsmithi
• Coachwhip
• Glossy snake
• Kingsnake
• Ring-necked snake
• Central Plains milksnake
• North American racer
• Western hognose snake

4. The Rio Grande – 1,759 mi (2,830 km)

Originating within the Colorado Rockies, the Rio Grande flows southeast to the Gulf of Mexico, forming the border between Texas and Mexico alongside most of its size. The river runs by areas of primarily arid and subtropical local weather varieties. Without the river, there would absolutely be far fewer snake species within the area, however with it, you’ll encounter species endemic to dry and even desert situations in addition to people who thrive in and close to water.

Rio Grande Snakes

Here are a number of the many species that decision the Rio Grande home:

• Texas blind snake
• Mexican racer
• Black-striped snake
• Texas indigo snake
• Great plains rat snake
• Schott’s whipsnake
• Bullsnake
• Flat-headed snake
• Checkered garter snake
• Gulf Coast ribbon snake
• Texas coral snake
• Western diamondback rattlesnake
• Prairie or Great Plains rattlesnake

3. The Yukon River – 1,979 mi (3,190 km)

As promised, we included one massively lengthy American river on this checklist with no snakes to provide a welcome reprieve to those that worry them. In reality, there are not any snakes or reptiles of any type in the entire state of Alaska, other than rarely-sighted sea turtles. The motive is fairly apparent. Reptiles use their exterior atmosphere to control their physique warmth: sunning on a heat rock or retreating to the shade as obligatory. And Alaska, with its continental and arctic local weather situations, is simply too dang chilly for cold-blooded animals. Of course, meaning it’s too chilly for most individuals, too!

2. The Mississippi River – 2,340 mi (3,766 km)

The Mississippi River is so huge that its watershed drains elements of 32 U.S. states and two of Canada’s provinces. In the northern a part of its journey, it runs by a moist continental local weather with chilly winters and heat summers. In the south, the local weather is humid subtropical—a way more splendid habitat for snakes.

Unfortunately, it’s also one of the polluted rivers on the earth. Running by the agricultural heartland of the continent, the river absorbs runoff from chemical fertilizers utilized in agriculture and garden care. The vitamins trigger algae blooms that burn up the oxygen within the water and kill off aquatic life, disrupting the meals chain for snakes and different predators.

Mississippi River Snakes

Here’s a pattern of a number of the most plentiful Mississippi River snakes:

• Northern watersnake
• Plains hognose snake
• Eastern hognose snake
• Bullsnake
• Eastern milksnake
• Eastern yellow-bellied racer
• Northern redbelly snake
• Western fox snake
• Plains garter snake
• Timber rattlesnake

1. The Missouri River – 2,341 mi (3,768 km)

One of a sequence of 5 waterfalls that cascade over hydroelectric dams alongside the higher Missouri River in Great Falls, Montana.

You is likely to be stunned to find that the Missouri River is the longest within the United States, only one mile longer than the Mississippi! No doubt, it can fall behind someday because the Mississippi River Delta slowly builds up silt and extends additional into the Gulf of Mexico. Running by the lightly-populated Plains States and Upper Midwest, the Missouri is home to a large number of water snakes, together with the lethal water moccasin or cottonmouth. This is certainly one of solely 4 venomous snake species within the United States, the others being the coral snake, rattlesnake, and copperhead.

Missouri River Snakes

This is a consultant pattern of a number of the snake species in and across the huge Missouri River.

• Northern water snake
• Diamondback water snake
• Yellow-bellied water snake
• Graham’s crayfish (or crawfish) snake
• Western mud snake
• Water moccasin (cottonmouth)
• Broad-banded water snake

Avoiding Snake Encounters

The greatest technique to survive a snake encounter is to not have one. Mostly, snakes attempt to escape from individuals, however while you fiddle in locations with plenty of concealing underbrush, deadwood, or rocks, you increase your possibilities of stunning one and being stunned by one. Snakes can strike anyplace from 1/3 to 1/2 of their physique size, so for a protracted snake, that might be a yard or extra of placing distance. You gained’t at all times have any warning you’re about to be bitten, even from a rattlesnake, as they don’t at all times shake their rattles.

If avoidance isn’t an choice, then gown protectively with lengthy pants and boots. And in fact, don’t attempt to copy the snake wranglers you’ve seen on television. There’s no quicker technique to be bitten than to select up a snake intentionally.

What If You’re Bitten?

If you do get bitten, attempt to discover any figuring out particulars or snap an image of it, if doable, to assist medical employees decide whether or not it’s a venomous species. Venomous or not, search medical consideration. Even a non-venomous snake could chew to defend itself, injecting micro organism into the wound they create that may result in an an infection. You might have a preventive course of antibiotics.

Being bitten by a venomous North American snake species doesn’t imply prompt loss of life. In reality, venomous snakes chew about 8,000 individuals within the U.S. a 12 months, however solely 10 or so die. So if a rattlesnake will get you, there’s a 99.9% likelihood you’ll survive. It’s 10 occasions extra seemingly you’ll die in a automotive crash, so the person driving you to the hospital is kind of a bit extra harmful to you than the snake!

Emergency Steps

The U.S. Forest Service recommends these emergency steps should you’re bitten by a venomous snake:

• Keep calm
• Call 911
• Wash the world with cleaning soap and water
• Remove jewellery so it doesn’t constrict swelling
• Immobilize the world
• Keep the wound beneath coronary heart stage
• Get somebody to drive you calmly and safely to the closest hospital

Now that you just’re totally armed with snake information, return to having fun with your flamingo float on the river. But perhaps hold your hand out of the water . . . simply in case.