It was created in 1975, by building the highest earthfill dam in India on the Beas River in the wetland zone of the Siwalik Hills.

Named in the honour of Maharana Pratap (1540–1597), the reservoir or the lake is a well-known wildlife sanctuary and one of the 49 international wetland sites declared in India by the Ramsar Convention.

The reservoir is connected by a good network of roads to major cities in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Monsoon rainfall between July and September is a major source of water supply into the reservoir, apart from snow and glacier melt.

The filling and depletion period for A technical committee of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) authorizes the monthly releases appropriately honouring the requirements projected by the partner states.

The two-day waterfowl census, which ended on 1 Feb 2015, recorded over 130,000 birds in the Pong Dam Wetlands.

[1] The interception of the migratory birds on their trans-Himalayan fly path, during each migration season, has enriched the biodiversity values of the reservoir.

The tree species of the forest area are acacia, jamun, shisham, mango, mulberry, ficus, kachanar, amla and prunus.

[18] A wide variety of commercially viable fish, 27 species of 5 families, such as mahseer, catla, mirror carp, singhara (native) and others are recorded in the Pong Dam reservoir and its tributaries.

With the emergence of the reservoir, commercial fishing was encouraged as an important programme not only to provide employment to about 1500 fishermen but also to promote the eco-tourism potential.

The present fish stocks in the reservoir, in the sequence of their abundance are: 1) rohu, Aorichthys seenghala, 2) Labeo calbasu (native), 3) Tor putitora (Himalayan mahseer), 4) Cirrhinus mrigala, 5) Wallago attu, 6) Cyprinus carpio, 7) Labeo dero, 8) Catla catla and 9) Channa sp.

This is attributed to the change in the Himachal Pradesh (HP) Fishing Rules, with an added clause which specifies the minimum catchable size for mahseer as 300–500 mm (10–20 in) or approximately 1.2 kg (2.6 lb).

[10][21] The main bird species reported are the bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), northern lapwing, ruddy shelduck, northern pintail, common teal, Indian spot-billed duck, Eurasian coot, red-necked grebe, black-headed gulls, plovers, black stork, terns, water-fowl and egrets.

[19] The periphery above the water surface area of the reservoir has recorded fauna species such as barking deer, sambar, wild boars, leopards and oriental small-clawed otters.

[22] The Bathu Temples are a cluster of ancient temples located 7 km from Jawali, a tehsil of Kangra district, which remain completely submerged in the waters of the reservoir for eight months of the year but emerge during March–June due to lower water level in these months.

A regional water-sports centre has been established in the Pong Dam Reservoir, which offers focused activities such as canoeing, rowing, sailing, and water skiing, apart from swimming.

[4] The reservoir is also used for water sports at Dehra which lies on National Highway en route to Jwalamukhi Temple and Dharamshala, though nothing much is done by governments in the past.