THE LASSEN COUNTY LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Modoc/Lassen Juniper-Shrub Hills and Mountains setting.
Lassen County has 4,541.4 square miles of land in California. 17 mapped landscape regions meet across Lassen County: Modoc/Lassen Juniper-Shrub Hills and Mountains, High Lava Plains, California Cascades Eastside Conifer Forest, among others.
On the Cascades' drier eastern side, open pine forests mingle with volcanic cones, buttes and basins. Larger river valleys and lake basins interrupt the surrounding uplands.
Regional context: Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills ↗ · Regional mapping across the county footprint
Where the landscape changes
Lassen County intersects 17 mapped regional units. The largest mapped shares are:
- Modoc/Lassen Juniper-Shrub Hills and Mountains22.6%
- High Lava Plains14.9%
- California Cascades Eastside Conifer Forest14.4%
- Sierra Nevada-Influenced Semiarid Hills and Basins7.3%
- Pluvial Lake Basins6.2%
Northern Basin and Range in Lassen County
Lava plains, stony uplands, dry valleys and scattered ranges form the Northern Basin and Range. Sagebrush and grassland give way to juniper and other woodland in higher or rockier settings.
Read the regional source ↗Cascades in Lassen County
Volcanic mountains, deeply cut stream valleys and glaciated high country define the Cascades. Conifer forests change with elevation, giving way to mountain meadows and rocky alpine terrain.
Read the regional source ↗Finding your parcel within Lassen County
The atlas lists 16 cities, towns, townships, and Census communities associated with Lassen County, including Janesville, Johnstonville, Susanville. The list includes overlapping geography types and does not divide the county into exclusive service areas.
Lassen County by land and water
The Census records 178.7 square miles of water within Lassen County, or 3.8% of its total area. That share is close to Lassen County’s 3.8%. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Lassen County has 2,141.1 times the land area of nearby Stones Landing CDP (2.12 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.
The Census boundary meets Modoc County, Plumas County, Shasta County, Sierra County within California. A tract near one of these lines should be matched to the county identifier on its own records.

