Shasta County is located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, in the Cascade Mountains. The county seat is Redding. The tourist attractions in Shasta County are Shasta Lake and the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The County was created in 1850 and named after Mount Shasta; "Shasta" is the English name of an Indian tribe that once lived in the area. The county has a total area of 3,847 mi², 98% of it is land and 2% of it is water. Mountains line the county on the east, north and west. As of 2000, there were 163,256 people residing in the county.