Colusa County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,839. The county seat is Colusa. It is in the northern Sacramento Valley, northwest of the state capital, Sacramento.
History
Colusa County is one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. and the name was spelled Colusi County in 1893, Parts of the county's territory were given to Tehama County in 1856 and to Glenn County in 1891.
The county was named after the 1844 Rancho Colus Mexican land grant to John Bidwell. The name of the county in the original state legislative act of 1850 was spelled Colusi, and often in newspapers was spelled Coluse. The word is derived from the name of a Patwin village known as Ko'-roo or Korusi located on the west side of the Sacramento River on the site of the present-day city of Colusa. The name was established as Colusa by 1855. whose territory included areas along the Sacramento River as well as lands extending west towards Lake County, bounded in the north by the sources of Stony Creek near Stonyford and in the south by Putah Creek.
Linguistically, the Patwin people in the Colusa area spoke two dialects of the Southern Wintuan language. River Patwin was spoken in villages along the Sacramento River, including at Korusi, site of the present city of Colusa. Hill Patwin was spoken in the plains and foothills to the west. the larger 1844 Rancho Jimeno grant, which surrounded the Colus grant;
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. A large number of streams drain the county, including Elk Creek, Salt Creek, Stony Creek and Bear Creek.
The county's eastern boundary is formed, in part, by the Sacramento River.
Adjacent counties
- Glenn County - north
- Butte County - northeast
- Sutter County - east
- Yolo County - south
- Lake County - west
National protected areas
- Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
- Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
- Mendocino National Forest (part)
- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (part)