The river begins in the Beaver Hills[2] and flows in an easterly direction into Crescent Lake.

The dam was built in 1921 by the Canadian National Railway (CNR) to create a reservoir to supply water for its operations.

The total capacity of the reservoir is 4,406,000 m3 (155,600,000 cu ft), while the surface area is 148.1 hectares (366 acres), and the shoreline is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long.

[9][10] At the southern end of the lake, on the north side of the dam, is a 2.1-kilometre (1.3 mi) loop hiking trail.

[11] Another hiking trail, 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) in length, goes from the lake to Melville along the north side of Crescent Creek.