Despite having cold blood, snakes must find freshwater supplies to survive, just like sweaty humans do in the heat. Although they still spend much of their time in the reeds, marshes, and rocks along the beach, many people are surprised to learn that common, non-aquatic serpents can swim fairly well.
Therefore, you may want to avoid these five snake-infested lakes in Arizona if you enjoy the water yet suffer from ophidiophobia.
Lake Mead
In terms of surface size, Lake Mead is the largest artificial reservoir in the United States, second only to Lake Powell (more on this lake in a moment).
With a maximum length of 65 miles and a maximum width of 9.3 miles, this remarkable lake spans over 550 miles of shoreline, which is shared between northwestern Arizona and southeast Nevada.
Four poisonous snakes—the Mojave, western diamondback, southwestern speckled, and sidewinder rattlesnakes—and one non-venomous snake—the tall, black/white-striped common kingsnake—are among the 41 species of reptiles known to exist at Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Lake Powell
Another man-made reservoir on the Colorado River that is shared by Utah and other states is Lake Powell, which is home to a variety of snakes. In terms of surface area, Lake Powell is the largest reservoir in the United States, measuring 186 miles in length and nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline.
Although both reservoirs have experienced recent droughts in the southwest, it is second only to Lake Mead in terms of maximum water capacity at 24,322,000 acre-feet.
In particular, visitors may see the following snakes: the four subspecies of the western rattlesnake (Hopi, Great Basin, midget faded, and Grand Canyon), the black-necked garter snake, the common kingsnake, the gopher snake, the glossy snake, the long-nose snake, the night snake, the patch-nosed snake, the striped whipsnake, and the wandering garter snake.
Lake Pleasant
At Lake Pleasant, semi-aquatic snakes have garnered media attention over the years. The fact that these stories primarily surface over Memorial Day weekend may seem like an odd coincidence, but it actually makes perfect sense.
This American holiday pulls throngs of people out of hibernation and into the territory of snakes, who are more active in the spring.
A nonvenomous gopher snake actually slithered on a family’s motorboat last year after swimming resolutely in its direction from a distance. Additionally, footage of ratsnakes swimming across the surface has been captured.
Mittry Lake
Mittry Lake is a great place to go boating, fishing, and camping because of its winding streams that connect to the main body. Numerous species of plants and animals, such as neotropical birds, amphibians, and yes, snakes, depend on this habitat.
From the Lake Mittry/Yuma area, 20 southern banded water snakes were removed in 2016. Unfortunately, this non-venomous serpent is invasive in this region.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department calculated that the number of water snakes had already pushed into the thousands due to the environment’s resemblance to the wetlands of Florida, which is its natural home, as well as the abundance of food sources.
Lake Mohave
There is a lot of overlap in the native snake species of the long, slender Lake Mohave because it is also a component of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
However, avoid letting pessimistic ideas ruin your trip to this oasis in the desert.
Water skiers, scuba divers, paddlers, pontoon and power boaters, fisherman, and beachcombers all adore Lake Mohave, a mystical location encircled by mountains (its 200 miles of shoreline offers plenty of sandy coves to explore).
Additionally, tourists should make it a point to look for the 3,000-year-old petroglyphs that have been carved into some of the cliffs.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are also some positive aspects to these snake-infested waters. People can play, unwind in nature, and find relief from the infamous American Southwest summers at Arizona’s enormous reservoirs.
Despite the fact that snakes share these lakes, shorelines, and adjacent ecosystems, and that some of these species are venomous, relatively few humans in the United States suffer harm as a result of snake encounters.
