Mountain View is a component of the San Francisco Bay Area and is tucked away in Santa Clara County, California. The city, which occupies 12.3 square miles with 12.0 square miles of land and 0.27 square miles (2.26%) of water, is ideally situated at the north end of State Route 85, where it intersects with U.S. Highway 101. Mountain View is located in the center of the San Francisco Peninsula, bordered to the north by Palo Alto and the San Francisco Bay, to the south by Los Altos, and to the east by Moffett Federal Airfield and Sunnyvale. The Diablo Range forms the Santa Clara Valley to the southeast, and the Santa Cruz Mountains encircle the city to the west, dividing it from the Pacific Ocean.

Warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters are characteristics of Mountain View's warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climatic classification Csb: dry-summer subtropical). Though not as much as San Francisco, which is located further north on the peninsula, the climate is somewhat softened by its proximity to the Pacific. The climatic data displayed at Moffett Federal Airfield, in Mountain View, shows mean daily maximum temperatures that vary from 59.0°F (15.0°C) in January to 76.9°F (24.9°C) in August. From 50.7°F (10.4°C) in January to 68.0°F (20.0°C) in August, the average daily temperature varies. The wettest month is January, with negligible rainfall, and the driest month is July, with an average of 16.26 inches (412.86 mm) of precipitation every year.

The educational environment of Mountain View is varied, with both public and private institutions represented. The Mountain View-Whisman School District oversees public elementary and middle schools that serve the town, while the Los Altos School District is in charge of Springer Elementary. Public high schools are governed by the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District. In the year 2006, the Shoreline Regional Park Community came up with a joint-powers agreement to address property tax challenges. Yew Chung International School, GISSV, Saint Francis High School, and Khan Lab School are a few well-known private schools. Established in 1997, the city's central public library offers a range of resources and outreach programs, including a particular collection on Mountain View's history on the second floor that includes a display of a portion of the Berlin Wall.

The SR-237, SR-85, and US-101 freeways, which form a triangle inside the city of Mountain View, are just a few of the well-connected freeways in the area. Castro Street has being converted into a pedestrian plaza since 2022. Other important thoroughfares in the city include El Camino Real, Shoreline Blvd., and Grant Road. Caltrain commuter rail, VTA light rail, and bus services are just a few of the many public transportation options made possible by the city's transit hub, Downtown Mountain View Station. While VTA oversees a number of bus lines, MVgo, a free shuttle, and other employer-operated shuttles provide local connection. Moffett Federal Airfield is only open to government, military, and private usage. San Jose International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Oakland International Airport are all accessible by air. Santa Clara County's Palo Alto Airport handles general aviation needs.