Lake County, California

Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,665. The county seat is Lakeport. The county takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California (Lake Tahoe is partially in Nevada; the Salton Sea was formed by flooding).Lake County forms the Clearlake, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is directly north of the San Francisco Bay Area.Lake County is part of California's Wine Country, which also includes Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. It includes five American Viticultural Areas and over 35 wineries.HistoryLake County was formed in 1861 from parts of Napa and Mendocino counties, but the area had European-American settlers from at least the 1840s. Lake County has long been known as a farming community.