[4] The county's name comes from Italian adventurer Giacomo Beltrami from Bergamo, who explored the area in 1825.

[5] Beltrami County comprises the Bemidji, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The northernmost portion of the Mississippi River flows through the southern part of the county, through Bemidji.

The county terrain consists of rolling low tree-covered hills, dotted with lakes and ponds.

Its highest point is a small hill 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northwest of Wolf Lake, at 1,511 ft (461 m) ASL;[7] otherwise the terrain high point is near its southwest corner, at 1,457 ft (444 m) ASL.

[18] The county exceeds the state and national rates in both violent and property crimes.

Bush fell short of a majority, with third parties (particularly Green nominee Ralph Nader) doing well statewide, but his 48.5% vote share was higher than any Republican's from 1964 to 1996 save Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1984.

Beltrami returned to the Democratic column in the next three elections, but in 2016, Donald Trump became the second Republican since 1972 to carry the county, winning a bare majority; in 2020, he won it again with a slightly higher percentage, but the margin of victory shrank due to the decrease in vote share for third party candidates.

On January 7, 2020, in response to Trump's executive order, the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners voted to prohibit refugees from resettling in the area.