[6] Del Norte was pioneered and populated by Azorean Portuguese settlers and dairy farmers, which may account for the local pronunciation of the county name.

[8] Del Norte County comprises the Crescent City, CA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The rural county is notable for forests containing giant Coast Redwoods, with some attaining heights over 350 feet (110 m).

This northernmost county on the California coast also has scores of unique plants and flowers, dozens of species of coastal birds and fish, rocky primitive beaches and sea stacks, pristine rivers and historic lighthouses.

The area that is now known as Del Norte was and still is inhabited by the Yurok (Klamath River Indians) and Tolowa Nations of indigenous peoples.

In 1855 Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse at "the battery point" (a high tide island on the coast of Crescent City) which is still functioning as a historical landmark.

A broad coastal plain can be found in the northwest portion of the county with the western edge of the Klamath Mountains as its easterly boundary.

The California endemic Blue oak, Quercus douglasii is at the northernmost part of its range in Del Norte County.

Alternative educational facilities are Del Norte Community Day, Elk Creek detention center, and Sunset Continuation High School.

Del Norte is traditionally a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections.

The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976; even so, Bill Clinton received a plurality in 1992.

[32] Del Norte County is in California's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Jared Huffman.

[35] The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

[40] Flights are largely subsidized by an Alternate Essential Air Service grant approved by the United States Department of Transportation and issued to the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority in 2020.

Its population count includes the inmates of Pelican Bay State Prison located ten miles north of the city.