Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) (Northeast Maidu: Pam Sewim K'odom, bush creek country)[5] is the only incorporated city in Lassen County, California, United States,[4] of which it is also the county seat.

Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county,[6] at an elevation of 4,186 feet (1,276 m).

[7][8] Nearly half the adult population of Susanville works at the three prisons in the area, where 6,000 people are incarcerated.

[9] It was originally known as Rooptown, named for Isaac Roop, a pioneer of the Honey Lake District.

[6] Early in its history, Susanville was a hub for overland freight transit, as it marked the meeting point of Nobles Emigrant Trail from Nevada and the Humboldt Wagon Road leading west to Chico.

In 2007, half of the adult population of Susanville worked in the prisons:[9] the California Correctional Center, a minimum-medium security facility, which opened in 1963; the High Desert State Prison, California (not to be confused with High Desert State Prison, Nevada), which opened in 1995; and the Federal Correctional Institution, Herlong, which opened in 2007.

Susanville is located at the head of Honey Lake Valley, 40 miles (64 km) east of Lassen Peak,[10] The elevation is approximately 4,186 feet (1,276 m) above sea level.

The most common soil series in Susanville's urban area is Springmeyer gravelly fine sandy loam.

[12] Susanville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb) with cool winters and hot, mostly dry summers, except for occasional afternoon thunderstorms.

The current city council members are:[2] This is a list of Susanville mayors by year.

Highway 139 heads north to the Oregon border as a direct route to Klamath Falls.

Highway 36 runs west to Red Bluff, then east to where it terminates with U.S. Route 395 just outside Susanville's city limits.

A Union Pacific Railroad caboose is on an intact section of track next to the rail depot.

One California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility, High Desert State Prison,[26][27] is in Susanville.

[28][29] According to Susanville's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[30] the top employers in the city are: