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About Lassen County
With the Sierra Nevada Mountains stretching to the south, the volcanic Cascade Mountains on the north, and the deserts of Nevada to the east, Lassen County sits at the intersecting point of a variety of geography and geology. Susanville, the county seat, sits against the mountains at the end of Honey Lake Valley. Evergreen trees cover the slopes surrounding the city and the Susan River flows out of a gorge, watering the green meadows and fields of the valley on the other side. The valley, widening to the southeast, becomes progressively drier, ultimately reaching the salt flats of Honey Lake (which is dry). The volcanic plateaus north of Susanville are covered alternately by forests and meadows, and the mountains rise to the west, ending in the alpine splendor of Lassen Volcanic Park.
Named after an early prospector, Peter Lassen, who worked this area in the 1850's, Lassen County retains much history of the gold rush days. The Nobles Emigrant Trail passed through Susanville and traversed much of the county.
Lassen County was establish on April 1, 1864, and covers 4,557 square miles on the California-Nevada border. The population, as of 2000, is 33,828. U.S. Highway 395 passes north-south through the county and California routes 36, 44, and 139 connect Susanville to other locations east and north.