It lies in a narrow, isolated canyon formed by the North Platte cutting through the Seminoe Mountains about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Rawlins.

This dam was first proposed in the 1930s as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Kendrick Project, which would regulate the flow of the North Platte River in order to improve agriculture in the valleys surrounding Casper, Wyoming.

[5] Originally known as the Casper-Alcova Project, it was authorized by the National Industrial Recovery Act on June 16, 1933 in response to the Great Depression.

A total of two deaths and several serious injuries resulted from the construction, and a pair of active faults that cut across the canyon near the dam site had to be excavated and filled in.

[6] On March 25, 1969, a helicopter experienced engine problems and crashed into the rocky canyon near Seminoe dam killing Bureau of Reclamation employees David McMillan and Howard Leroy Gates.