[4] Clearwater County is home to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River.

Parts of the Red Lake and White Earth Indian reservations extend into the county.

The county terrain consists of wooded rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds.

[5] The terrain slopes to the north, with the highest point on the lower west boundary, at 1,781 ft (543 m) ASL.

[5] From 1932 to 1996, Clearwater County voted for the Democratic nominee all but twice, both during nationwide Republican landslides for Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Beginning in 2000, Clearwater County has voted Republican in each election, and the only time the margin got under 10% was in 2008.

In 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win over 60% of the county's vote since 1928, defeating Hillary Clinton by an astounding 43%.