Cottonmouth snakes (also called water moccasins) live in the southeastern United States , mostly around warm, wet habitats like swamps, marshes, and slow-moving waters.

Main Places They Live

  • From southeastern Virginia down through the Carolinas, Georgia, and all of Florida.
  • Westward across the Gulf states (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) into eastern and central Texas and Oklahoma.
  • North up into parts of Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.

In simple terms: if you picture a big arc from Virginia, down around the Gulf Coast, and back up toward the lower Midwest, that’s cottonmouth country.

What Their Habitat Looks Like

Cottonmouths are semi‑aquatic, so they stay close to water almost all the time.

Typical spots include:

  • Swamps and marshes
  • Backwater sloughs and floodplains
  • Slow-moving creeks and rivers
  • Ponds, lakes, and reservoirs
  • Ditches and other wet, overgrown low areas

They often bask on logs, rocks, or branches right at the water’s edge and may wander short distances over land, especially in warm, humid weather or after heavy rains.

Quick Example: State-Level View

Here’s a compact look at where they appear in a few states:

[2][1] [9][5] [5] [1][3][5]
State Where cottonmouths live
Florida Widespread in wetlands, swamps, canals, ponds, and marshes statewide.
Georgia Mainly in Coastal Plain swamps, backwaters, and slow creeks; absent in far NE mountains.
Kentucky Confined to western wetlands and floodplains; not in central or eastern Kentucky.
Texas Eastern and central parts, in bayous, swamps, and lowland waters.

If You’re Wondering “Could They Be Near Me?”

  • If you live in or near the southeastern U.S. and have swampy areas, backwater creeks, or overgrown ponds, cottonmouths are possible.
  • Far northern, high-elevation, or very dry regions of the U.S. do not have native cottonmouth populations.

TL;DR: Cottonmouth snakes live in the southeastern U.S., sticking close to warm, slow, and swampy waters like marshes, swamps, ponds, and backwater streams.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.