The pelage lacks underfur, and coloration ranges from black to almost white. As in the Heteromyidae, the infraorbital canal is long, narrow, and sunken within the skull for protection from muscle pressure. The opening to the canal is anterior to the zygomatic arch and lateral to the rostrum. The premolar, the largest grinding tooth, is 8 -shaped. The cheek teeth grow throughout life, and their enamel is greatly reduced.
Pocket gophers are fossorial and prefer a soil conducive to digging.
They do not travel far, and occur in localized, isolated areas of suitable habitat over much of their range. They spend most of their life underground, though at times they surface to gather food for storage in their burrows. In certain parts of the country the older animals may move to moister areas during dry periods. In Canada an individual Thomomys talpoides was observed swimming across a river 90 meters wide. The burrow systems are often extensive and are usually marked aboveground by a series of mounds of earth, the entrances of which are often closed with dirt.