This is one of the most common rattlesnakes in the western U.S., if not the most common, yet I had somehow managed to avoid seeing one until now. They look pretty similar to Mohave Rattlesnakes from a distance, which is where you should generally be when viewing rattlesnakes. One giveaway here is the more or less even widths of the black and white bands on the tail, a feature that has earned this species the nickname of "coontail rattler".