It is located in the "Kootenay Plains area of the Canadian Rockies' front range", on the North Saskatchewan River in western Alberta, Canada.

[4] Planning of the dam involved no evaluation of the social and environmental effects it may have caused and no public hearings were held prior to the construction.

The Government of Alberta sponsored a contest to name the lake in February 1972, during the final stages of construction of the Bighorn Dam.

Students across the province were asked to submit names taking into consideration "historical significance, prominent persons, geography and topography, and the value of the lake.

The visual effects formed by the resulting stacks of bubbles, frozen while rising toward the surface, combined with the clear blue water, have made Abraham Lake a popular destination for photographers and nature observers.