Calaveras County

Calaveras County is an administrative division in California that covers the Sierra Nevada foothills and includes rolling hills, valleys, and limestone cave systems. The territory sits east of the Central Valley between the Stanislaus River to the north and the Mokelumne River to the south.

The county was officially created in 1850 when California joined the United States. Later, portions of its territory were separated to form neighboring Amador and Alpine counties.

Spanish explorers gave the territory its name after finding skulls in the area. The county symbol references the famous frog story that still appears at local events today.

San Andreas is the administrative seat where the county offices handle citizen matters. The area works well for longer stays if you plan to combine cave visits and landscape exploration.

Multiple natural cave systems run beneath the surface, including Mercer Caverns, California Cavern, and Moaning Cavern, formed by limestone erosion over millions of years. Moaning Cavern in particular has a large main chamber that once produced sounds from wind currents.

Location: California

Inception: 1850

Capital city: San Andreas

Shares border with: Amador County, Stanislaus County, San Joaquin County, Tuolumne County, Alpine County

Website: http://co.calaveras.ca.us

GPS coordinates: 38.21000,-120.55000

Latest update: December 13, 2025 18:13