Red Bluff, California

City of Red Bluff
Cone & Kimball Plaza clocktower, known as the "Center of the City"
Motto: 
"A Great Place To Live"
Location in California and Tehama County
City of Red Bluff
Location in the United States
City of Red Bluff
City of Red Bluff (California)
Coordinates: 40°10′36″N 122°14′17″W / 40.17667°N 122.23806°W / 40.17667; -122.23806
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyTehama
IncorporatedMarch 31, 1876
Area
  City
7.67 sq mi (19.88 km2)
  Land7.56 sq mi (19.58 km2)
  Water0.11 sq mi (0.30 km2)  1.48%
Elevation
305 ft (93 m)
Population
 (2020)
  City
14,710
  Density1,900/sq mi (740/km2)
  Urban
18,434
Time zoneUTC−8 (Pacific (PST))
  Summer (DST)UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP code
96080
Area code530, 837
FIPS code06-59892
GNIS feature IDs277581, 2411527
WebsiteOfficial website

Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. Its population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census.

It is located 131 miles (211 kilometers) north of Sacramento, 31 mi (50 km) south of Redding, and it is bisected by Interstate 5. Red Bluff is situated on the banks of the upper Sacramento River. Located in the northernmost part of California’s Central Valley, the city marks the northern end of a vast contiguously cultivated area that extends all the way to Bakersfield, 400 mi (640 km) to the south. Mildly rugged terrain, used as rangeland, separates Red Bluff from the next crop areas to the north in Cottonwood.

It was originally known as Leodocia, but was renamed to Covertsburg in 1853, then its current name in 1854. Located at the head of navigation on the Sacramento River, the town flourished in the mid- to late 19th century as a landing point for miners heading to the Trinity County gold fields and later as a temporary terminus for the Southern Pacific Railroad's northward expansion.