Isabella Lake is at the junction of the north and south forks of the Kern River about 35 miles northeast of Bakersfield. It was completed in 1953 at a Federal cost of $22 million.
The main dam and the auxiliary dam are about 2,000 feet apart. The main earthfill dam is 185 ft high and 1,725 feet long and an auxiliary earthfill structure is 100 feet high and 3,275 feet long
The gross capacity of both dams is 568,100 acre-feet. The total capacity may be operated to control snowmelt floods.
The dam protects more than 300,000 people located in the Bakersfield area and about 350,000 acres of agricultural land and oilfields. With other multipurpose projects in the basin, it also helps protect 260,000 acres of cropland in the Tulare Lake area.
Non-federal interests have paid for a portion of the annual operation, maintenance and replacement costs.
Construction of a 12-megawatt power plant was completed below the dam by the Central Hydroelectric Corporation in 1991.
