 Both dam and reservoir are located in Ross Lake National Recreation Area, is bordered on both sides by Stephen Mather Wilderness and combined with Lake Chelan National Recreation Area they make up North Cascades National Park Complex.Built as part of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project by Seattle City Light, the dam is part of a series of three dams through the Skagit Gorge that were built primarily to generate hydroelectricity from the massive elevation drop of over from the Canada-U.S. border to Newhalem.The other two dams are Diablo Dam, directly below Ross Dam, and Gorge Dam, further downstream.