It is the second (and largest) of six main-stem dams on the Missouri River built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, hydroelectric power, navigation, and irrigation.

The remainder of the Van Hook town site including the original Main Street and the residential areas to the north have not been underwater.

Yet, the US Army Corps of Engineers, as a direct consequence of poor planning, forced those living in that area of the original town site in the 1950s to evacuate.

Elbowoods, a third reservation town where the agency headquarters, boarding school, hospital, and jail were located, was also lost to the lake.

Public recreation areas, parks, and wildlife management areas surround the lake and are managed by several agencies and organizations including the Corps of Engineers, North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.