The North Fork's source is Emigrant Lake, which is at an elevation of 8,800 ft (2,680 m).

The East and North forks meet several miles (~6 – 8 km) downstream of the lake.

They have food storage containers, picnic tables and fire rings, with grates for cooking.

The dam is composed of earth and rock-fill and has a height of 315 ft (96 m) above the original streambed.

Cherry Lake has a warm-Mediterranean climate featuring warm to sometimes hot dry summers, with rare small thunderstorms, and cool, snowy, and rainy winters that receive above average precipitation for California due to its location on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.