Field Guide / Snakes
The venomous snakes hunters, anglers, and hikers are most likely to meet in the United States, and the harmless snakes most often mistaken for them. Search by name or place, or filter by kind, region, and habitat.
Stay back and do not handle it. Most bites happen when someone tries to catch, kill, or pick up a snake. Photos here are AI-generated and cannot replace seeing a real animal, so if you are not sure what a snake is, treat it as venomous and walk around it. If someone is bitten, call 911.
15 snakes
VenomousAgkistrodon contortrix
A well-camouflaged pit viper of eastern woods, leaf litter, and rocky hillsides that is common near homes and a leading cause of snakebites in the East.
Length: 2 to 3 feet
VenomousAgkistrodon piscivorus
A thick-bodied, semi-aquatic pit viper of southern swamps, sloughs, and slow rivers, often confused with the many harmless water snakes that share its habitat.
Length: 2 to 4 feet
VenomousMicrurus fulvius
A small, secretive, brightly ringed relative of cobras, found in the Southeast, with strong venom but a small mouth and a shy nature.
Length: 2 to 3 feet
VenomousCrotalus adamanteus
The largest rattlesnake and the heaviest venomous snake in the United States, found in the sandy pine and palmetto country of the Southeast.
Length: 3 to 6 feet (the thickest rattlers reach more)
VenomousCrotalus viridis
The rattlesnake of the Great Plains and the interior West, common in grassland, sagebrush, and rocky outcrops where it dens in winter.
Length: 2.5 to 4 feet
VenomousCrotalus horridus
A heavy-bodied rattlesnake of eastern forests and rocky ridges, calm by nature and uncommon or protected across much of its range.
Length: 3 to 5 feet
VenomousCrotalus atrox
The most common large rattlesnake of the Southwest, found in desert scrub, rocky hills, and grassland from Texas to southern California.
Length: 3 to 5 feet
Harmless LookalikesColuber constrictor
A fast, slender, harmless snake that raises its head to look around and flees at speed, and can be mistaken for a venomous snake when it turns and defends itself.
Length: 3 to 5 feet
Harmless LookalikesPantherophis obsoletus
A long, glossy black constrictor of eastern woods and farms, a skilled climber that eats rodents and is often found in barns and trees.
Length: 3.5 to 6 feet
Harmless LookalikesPituophis catenifer sayi
A big, harmless snake of the Great Plains that hisses loudly and shakes its tail to pass for a rattlesnake, and so is often killed for no reason.
Length: 4 to 6 feet
Harmless LookalikesThamnophis sirtalis
The most widespread snake in North America, a small striped snake of gardens, meadows, and shorelines that is harmless to people.
Length: 18 inches to 4 feet (most are 2 to 3 feet)
Harmless LookalikesLampropeltis getula
A glossy black snake with narrow white chain-like bands that eats other snakes, including venomous ones, and is harmless to people.
Length: 3 to 4.5 feet
Harmless LookalikesHeterodon platirhinos
A stout, harmless snake that puts on a fearsome show, flattening its neck, hissing, and then rolling over and playing dead.
Length: 2 to 3 feet
Harmless LookalikesLampropeltis triangulum
A secretive, harmless constrictor with red-brown blotches, often found around barns and old buildings and often mistaken for a copperhead.
Length: 2 to 3.5 feet
Harmless LookalikesNerodia sipedon
A common, harmless snake of ponds, rivers, and lakes in the East and Midwest, often killed by mistake because it looks like a cottonmouth or copperhead.
Length: 2.5 to 4 feet