The Hungry Horse Dam is situated in the Rocky Mountains of north-west Montana. It extends the south fork of the Flathead River forming the Hungry Horse dam. The catchment is in the Flathead National Forest in Flathead County, 15 miles south of the west entrance to Glacier National Park and 20 miles northeast of Kalispell, Montana.

The dam wall is built between a narrow canyon with a height of 171.9 m and was the fifth highest in the world when its construction ended on July 18, 1953.

The dam is mainly used for power generation, flood control and for irrigation purposes. The reservoir covers an area of 96.3 km², the maximum amount of water is provided by the Columbia River Basin. Water drop is 149 m. The Hungry Horse Dam is operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.