One at% Yb:CaF2 transparent ceramics for high power lasers are obtained by vacuum sintering and hot pressing nanoparticles synthesized through a soft chemistry route. The residual optical losses of these ceramics are as low as 0.09 cm-1 (corresponding to an in-line transmittance of 96.7%) at 1200 nm. Densification during sintering is limited by large voids, but pressure assisted densification after sintering results in high optical quality transparent ceramics. Absorption spectra are similar to Yb:CaF2 single crystal, and the fluorescence lifetime was measured to be 2 ms in the wavelength 1010 to 1050 nm range. The 1 at% Yb:CaF2 transparent ceramics successfully produced laser oscillation at 1031 nm when placed in an Omega-type laser cavity under 970 nm diode laser pumping.