Rhyacotriton cascadea

Cascade Torrent Salamander

Identification/Variations: Tan or brown with light or heavy black and white dots. They are a shade of yellow below. These salamanders do not get very big and only reach about 3 inches in total length. Until recently all torrent salamanders were classified as a single species, but recent studies have broken them up into four separate species.

Range/Habitat: These salamanders are found in streamside talus and small rocks. In the Columbia River Gorge they may be found in abundance as there are many rocky streams below waterfalls they inhabit. They can be found in the low to mid elevations of the Cascade Mountains in northern Oregon and southern Washington.

Notes: While adults of this species lose their gills and become air breathers, they are still found very near and sometimes submerged in water. In the appropriate habitat they may be quite abundant. They tend to prefer shallow trickles and seeps, not the torrents that their name suggests.