Curwensville Dam is located on the West Branch Susquehanna River

West Branch Susquehanna River

The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...

 about 0.6 miles (1 km) upstream from Curwensville in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 81,642.Clearfield County was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Huntingdon and Lycoming Counties but was administered as part of Centre County until 1812...

. The dam is an earth fill structure 2,850 feet long, rising 131 feet above the stream bed, with a spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

 and gate-controlled outlet. The reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

, Curwensville Lake

Curwensville Lake

Curwensville Lake is a reservoir located just to the south of the town of Curwensville, Pennsylvania. The lake was formed due to the construction of the Curwensville Dam to the north of the lake. Before the dam was built, there were several floods occurring along the West Branch Susquehanna...

, has a storage capacity of 124200 acre.foot at spillway crest and extends 14 miles (23 km) upstream when filled to that level. The project controls a drainage area of 365 square miles (945.3 km²) or 98 percent of the West Branch at Curwensville and 75 percent at Clearfield, PA. Clearfield County operates and maintains the recreation area which includes a beach, boat launch, picnic areas, athletic fields, playgrounds, picnic pavilions and a 43-site campground.