The lake was formed by the construction of Pine Flat Dam on the Kings River in 1954 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has a storage capacity of 1,000,000 acre⋅ft (1.2 km3). Although it was primarily designed for flood control, the project also provides for irrigation and groundwater recharge, recreation, and with the completion in 1984 of the Jeff L. Taylor Pine Flat Power Plant, generation of 165 Megawatts hydroelectric power.