In January 2008, zebra mussels were identified for the first time in California and Colorado. These were the first populations west of the Rocky Mountains.
2005 - Zebra mussels were detected for the first time in 15 new lakes in Michigan.
2003 - Zebra mussels were discovered for the first time in Kansas at El Dorado Lake, a reservoir on the Walnut River. Larvae, also called veligers, were collected late in the year in the Missouri River just above and below Lewis and Clark Lake.
2002 - The state of Virginia was added to the list of states with zebra mussels when a population was discovered in an isolated rock quarry.
2001 - More small lakes infestations occurring in the Great Lakes states.
2000 - The known spread of zebra mussels to new habitats is occurring almost exclusively in small lakes which are in close proximity to other infested waters.
1999 - A single zebra mussel found in Missouri River at Sioux City, Iowa.
1998 - First zebra mussels found in Connecticut.
1997 - New infestations of zebra mussels found in the Monongahela River and upper Ohio River, all in Pennsylvania. Heavy infestations in the Arkansas River. Population density increased slightly in the Tennessee River.
1996 - Population densities still increasing in the upper Mississippi River.
1995 - Expanding range to include nearly all of Lake Champlain. Population densities still increasing in the lower Mississippi River.
1994 - First seen in the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. Zebra mussels occurred at nearly every lock and dam on the Mississippi River. Also starting to see small lakes with infestations in the Great Lakes states.
1993 - Zebra mussels found near New Orleans and moved up the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma. First appearance in Lake Champlain in Vermont.
1992 - Zebra mussels could be found nearly the entire length of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee rivers. Also present in the lower Arkansas River in Arkansas.
1991 - Zebra mussels escaped the Great Lakes by way of man-made canals into the Illinois River and subsequently the Mississippi River. Further to the East, the Erie Canal allowed zebra mussels access to the Hudson River in New York.
1990 - Zebra mussels continued to spread in Great Lakes, especially Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
1989 - Just one year later, zebra mussels were found in all 5 Great Lakes.
1988 - Zebra mussels were first collected in Lake St. Clair, soon followed by Lake Erie.
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Zebra mussel Google Map Version on NAS The spread of zebra mussels in the North America, especially the United States, has been extraordinary. Because of their unique ability to attach to boats, they quickly spread throughout the Great Lakes and eventually into a large portion of the Mississippi River drainage. It is commonly accepted that large barges spread them up and down the large navigable waterways such as the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arkansas rivers their first few years here. Since that time their range has expanded outward very little. However, within that geographic range, they have infested many new locations along the rivers, but especially into small lakes not connected to these large rivers or even the Great Lakes. Over the past several years, zebra mussels have been spreading to hundreds of small lakes within the states bordering the Great Lakes. To see if there are zebra mussels in a lake near you, go to our Distribution in Small Lakes map. Photo Gallery
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Red dots represent confirmed collections or observations of adults, juveniles, or veligers, but not always established populations.
Yellow stars represent the discovery of the overland transport of zebra mussels on trailered boats.
PROGRESSION OF THE ZEBRA MUSSEL (Dreissena polymorpha) DISTRIBUTION IN NORTH AMERICA
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