The Lahontan Dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Newlands Project.

The reservoir receives water from an area of 1,450 sq mi (3,800 km2) and provides a storage capacity of 295,500 acre⋅ft (364,500 dam3) at spillway crest.

An additional 23,900 acre⋅ft (29,500 dam3) can be stored by raising the gates, bringing the total capacity to 319,400 acre⋅ft (394,000 dam3).

The site also includes hydroelectric generators with a total capacity of 4,000 kilowatts.

[3] Construction began as part of the Truckee-Carson Project in 1911 and Lahontan City, Nevada, a company town, was built for the workers.