High-lights of gold are sometimes seen. The tail tends to white with black rings. There is a diagonal stripe back through the eye. Rattlesnakes are certainly venomous, but these animals tend to be quite shy. They will seek shelter on detection of human approach and are seldom seen.
Bites occur when the snake is startled or provoked.
Venom is for prey acquisition and envenomation is incidental. Rattlesnakes do not truly hibernate. They are ectothermic. Northern Pacific rattlers den up in select granite out-croppings for their winter period of inactivity. The denning group may be quite large, probably because suitable sites are actually scarce.