Gopher's physical appearance resembles that of many rodents.  They have a very fine and variable colored fur which can range from gray to white.  This fine fur is a tool to keep the dirt from getting into and clumping the fur.  At a length of about 5-14 inches the animal falls in the medium range for a rodent.

Pocket Gophers are true underground dwellers having certain physical characteristics that make life easier for these types of creatures. Gopher's have very powerful front leg quarters to assist in the digging process and very long, very large front claws and teeth.  A short, barely discernable neck, and their small flat head both help with the digging process by keep the animals head low with those front teeth and legs do the hard work of digging. They have relatively small eyes and ears which provide less surface area to get dirt in thereby keeping irritation low; however, these mammals are a little deficient when it comes to eyesight and hearing capabilities because of it.  To make up for the poor eyesight and hearing they have highly sensitive whiskers on their face to help feel their way through the dark tunnels.

A very interesting physical feature of this little mammal is its ability to close its lips behind their very large incisors.  Most experts agree that this characteristic keeps all of that dirt from getting into the animals mouth while still having use of those large incisors to help with the digging!

But perhaps the most well known gopher characteristic is their cheek pouches, aka, "pockets".  These versatile little wonders make easy work of food gathering due to their amazing ability to turn completely inside out!