Their fur is fine and soft, and highly variable in color. Colors range from nearly black to pale brown to almost white. The great variability in size and color of pocket gophers is attributed to their low dispersal rate and, thus, limited gene flow, resulting in adaptation to local conditions. Several other small mammals are sometimes confused with pocket gophers. Pocket gophers can be distinguished from other mammals by their telltale signs, as well as by appearance.
Pocket gophers leave soil mounds on the surface of the ground.
The mounds are usually fan-shaped, and tunnel entrances are plugged, keeping intruders out of burrows. Ground squirrels are often mistaken as pocket gophers. Ground squirrels have open holes leading to their tunnel system, and are often seen outside their holes. Pocket gophers spend almost all their time in their sealed tunnel systems, and are seldom seen on the surface. A wide variety of habitats are occupied by pocket gophers.