This pocket gopher occurs in the northwestern United States. Its 2004 natural-history account used the older combination Thomomys townsendii, while the Mammal Diversity Database currently uses Megascapheus townsendii.
The coat ranges from pale gray to light brown, and black individuals are also described. The ears are dark gray.
It is recorded in bottomlands along rivers and lakes with deep, moist, loamy alkaline soils.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.