Folsom Dam is located just north of the city of Folsom and consists of a high, long hollow core concrete gravity dam containing of material. The dam is flanked by two earthen wing dikes, and the reservoir is held in place by an additional nine saddle dams on the west and southeast sides. The wing dams total a length of , and the saddle dams measure long combined. The dam and appurtenant dikes total a length of , more than . Floodwaters are released by a spillway located on the main channel dam, controlled by eight radial gates with a capacity of , as well as a set of outlet works with a capacity of .