[1] The earthen dam was constructed between 1966 and 1971 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, with a height of 173 feet (53 m), 1,050 feet (320 m) long at its crest, and a morning glory spillway.
[2] It impounds the East Fork Cimarron River for irrigation storage, as the main part of the larger Bostwick Park Project on the Western Slope.
[3] The dam is owned by the Bureau and operated by the local Bostwick Park Water Conservancy District.
The reservoir it creates, Silver Jack Reservoir, has a normal water surface of 293 acres (119 ha), a normal elevation of 2,671 metres (8,763 ft)[4] and a maximum capacity of 12,820 acre-feet (15,810,000 m3).
[5] Recreation includes fishing, camping, boating, hunting, and hiking.