Butte County is situated on the east side of Northern California's Sacramento Valley.
The surrounding counties include Plumas on the northeast, Yuba on the southeast, Sutter and Colusa on the southwest, Glenn on the west and Tehama on the northwest. The county covers 1,675 square miles. Rising from the Sacramento River, its western boundary, to the Sierra Nevada mountains, its eastern perimeter, Butte County's elevation spans fron 60 to over 7,000 feet above sea level and has a considerable variation in climate. Summers at the lower elevations are dry and warm, with temperatures at times topping 100 degrees. The valley winters are mild, with occasional frosts.