On clear days in Corning, you can see Mount Shasta 150 miles away. Butte County Butte County was founded in 1850 as one of California's original 27 counties and is located 66 miles from Sacramento. The five leading commodities were rice, almonds, prunes, walnuts, and kiwifruit.
Butte County is the second highest in the number of seasonal and migrant farm workers.
This north Great Central Valley county's major cities include Paradise, Gridley, Oroville, and Chico, the county's largest and home to a well-known California State University campus. With 1581 employees, the university is the County's largest employer. In recent years, the county has had considerable success with relocations and expansions of technically oriented companies. For example, when Silicon Valley-based Spectra Physics was recently looking to expand its custom laser and optical component manufacturing business, it was wooed by 30 different cities across the Western United States. Company officials cited quality of life and a pro-business attitude as major factors for choosing Oroville.