The foundation of the dam comprises closely jointed hard siltstone and quartzite with overburden of decomposed rock and slope-wash up to 6.1 metres (20 ft) deep.

A subsidiary embankment containing 121,900 cubic metres (4,300,000 cu ft) of fill across a low saddle in a ridge forms the left abutment of the dam wall.

The overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates is capable of discharging 475 cubic metres per second (16,800 cu ft/s).

It was also the subject of a 2001 documentary by historian Jeannine Baker, entitled Our Drowned Town, which screened on SBS Television.

[6] Today a tourist village has been built around the handful of buildings which were not relocated from the newly created lakeshore at Old Adaminaby.

For a period of time around 2007, the waters of Lake Eucumbene had receded due to a prolonged drought and Old Adaminaby began to reveal itself after being underwater for over 50 years – gaining the attention of the global media.

Snow can occur at any time of the year, save for high summer, and is often heaviest on the northern and western shores of the lake.