[7] The county's name is a pseudo-Native American word coined by Henry Schoolcraft, a Michigan geographer and ethnologist.

An alternative theory is that this is a neologism or neonym created by Henry Schoolcraft, originally spelled Calcasca.

[10] Kalkaska sand, the state soil of Michigan, was named after the county because of the large amounts deposited in the area from glaciers in the Ice Age.

A large portion of the area is the Grayling outwash plain, a broad outwash plain including sandy ice-disintegration ridges, jack pine barrens, some white pine-red pine forest, and northern hardwood forest.

[11] At the 2010 United States census[17] there were 16,571 people, 6,428 households, and 4,634 families residing in the county.

The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, records deeds, mortgages, and vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of social services.

The county board of commissioners controls the budget and has limited authority to make laws or ordinances.

In Michigan, most local government functions—police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc.—are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.