---
title: "California Vole"
description: "Microtus californicus — Mammals. The California vole is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/california-vole
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# California Vole

> Microtus californicus — Mammals. The California vole is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon.

- Scientific name: *Microtus californicus*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows)
- iNaturalist observations: 3125
- Wikidata: [Q1766467](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1766467)
- iNaturalist taxon: [44326](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/44326)

## Names

- en: California Vole
- de: Kalifornische Wühlmaus
- es: Ratón Meteoro de California
- fr: Campagnol de Californie
- nl: Californische woelmuis

## Countries with the most observations

US (2000), MX (9)

## Summary

The California vole is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It averages 172 mm (6.8 in) in length although this length varies greatly between subspecies.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_vole

## Photo

![California Vole](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/california-vole/medium.jpg)

Photo: Andy Kleinhesselink · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/333986584

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/california-vole?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).