Okanagana tristis rubrobasalis is known from California and extreme western Nevada (U.S.A.), occurring in the California forests and chaparral. Sanborn & Phillips (2013) suggest that the significant overlap of this subspecies with Okanagana tristis tristis indicates that it may be a simple color variation and that further analyses to assess the status of the subspecies should be performed. (Sanborn & Phillips 2013)
