Coast Mole in Washington

Scapanus orarius

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; native to its Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Riley Pollom · CC BY 4.0Coast Mole (Scapanus orarius)Photo: Grant Chovil · CC BY 4.0Coast Mole (Scapanus orarius)Photo: Sam Beaumont · CC BY 4.0Coast mole on bare soil facing the camera, showing spade-like front paws and pink snout

Coast Mole in Washington, by the numbers

Occasional in Washington 61st most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

125 occurrence records

104 with iNaturalist photos

May 19, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

125 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 117; the monthly chart covers the 116 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Coast Mole in Washington

Most sightings fall in May to June.

116 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)

Month	Records
January	5
February	6
March	6
April	9
May	21
June	30
July	12
August	5
September	8
October	5
November	4
December	5

Monthly coast mole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in May–June.

Occurrence map

Where Coast Mole has been recorded in Washington

117 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

117 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Cape Disappointment	2
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area	2
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area	2
Gifford Pinchot National Forest	1
Anderson Lake	1
Millersylvania Memorial	1
Lake Louise Natural Resources Conservation Area	1
West Tiger Mountain Natural Resources Conservation Area	1

Protected places with the most coast mole sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

County	Records
King County	43
Whatcom County	20
Jefferson County	16
Kitsap County	7
Snohomish County	5
Mason County	4
Thurston County	4
Clark County	3
Skagit County	3
Pacific County	2
Skamania County	2
Clallam County	2
5 other counties	14

The complete county distribution, spread across 17 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

In this state overlay, coast mole appears in 125 combined occurrence records. iNaturalist supplies 104 records and GBIF 91, a contrast explaining why the combined total is not a simple sum. That evidence yields a Washington atlas rank of 65 out of 145.

Records crest in June at 30 and reach their floor in November (4). The most concrete location details are Cape Disappointment and the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area, each associated with 2 records. Those signals belong to reporting history and should not be treated as relative population size.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Coast Mole Scapanus orarius Size 12.3 cm4.8 in Weight 62 g2.2 oz Lifespan Up to 3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"