Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport. The county takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest non-extinct natural lake wholly within California. (Lake Tahoe is partially in Nevada; the Salton Sea was formed by flooding; Tulare Lake was drained by the agricultural industry.)

Lake County forms the Clearlake, California 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.

Clear Lake is the largest, natural freshwater lake in California with 68 square miles of surface area. Clear Lake is very productive and scenic, a lush paradise for fish and wildlife. The high productivity of the Clear Lake Basin attracted Native Americans early in their settlement of North America. Archeological evidence indicates human habitation around Clear Lake for the last 12,000 years.

Known as the Bass Capital of the West, Clear Lake supports large populations of bass, crappie, bluegill, carp, and catfish. Two-thirds of the fish caught in Clear Lake are largemouth bass, with a record of 17.52 pounds. Bass fishing and fishing tournaments held on Clear Lake bring fishermen and women from all over California and other States. In addition to fish, there is abundant wildlife within the Basin.