Upper Rivington Reservoir is situated centrally in the Rivington

Rivington

Rivington is a small village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, occupying . It is about southeast of Chorley and about northwest of Bolton. Rivington is situated on the fringe of the West Pennine Moors, at the foot of Rivington Pike...

 chain of reservoirs, on the West Pennine Moors

West Pennine Moors

The West Pennine Moors cover an area of approximately of moorland and reservoirs in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, England.The West Pennine Moors are separated from the main Pennine range by the Irwell Valley. The moorland includes Withnell, Anglezarke and Rivington Moors in the extreme west,...

 in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 between Rivington and Anglezarke

Anglezarke

Anglezarke is a sparsely populated civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is dominated by reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool, and a large expanse of moorland with evidence of Bronze Age settlements...

. The engineer for the Rivington reservoirs was Thomas Hawksley and construction took place between 1852 and 1857. The two dams of the Upper Rivington reservoir are the 267 metre Horrobin Embankment that separates it from the lower reservoir and carries a road into the village from the west, and the 332 metre long, 12.2 metre high Yarrow Embankment.

There is an island. A bridleway and residence, The Street

The Street (Rivington)

The Street is a historical property on a bridleway of the same name in Heath Charnock in the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England. It is located on the western banks of the Upper Rivington reservoir and close to the boundary with the village of Rivington. It has been converted to...

 are on the side of the reservoir. It is a popular walking destination, between Anglezarke Reservoir

Anglezarke Reservoir

Anglezarke Reservoir is the largest reservoir in the Rivington chain to the west of Anglezarke in Lancashire, England. Anglezarke Reservoir has three embankments, the longest, the Charnock Embankment is 777 metres long and 9.45 metres high, the Knowsley Embankment is 219.5 metres long and 14...

 to the north, Lower Rivington Reservoir

Lower Rivington Reservoir

Lower Rivington Reservoir is at the end of the Rivington chain of reservoirs, with Upper Rivington Reservoir to the north, and Rivington Water Treatment Works to the south....

 to the south, and Yarrow reservoir

Yarrow Reservoir

Yarrow Reservoir - named after the River Yarrow - is a reservoir in the Rivington chain in Anglezarke, Lancashire, England, and has a storage capacity second to Anglezarke Reservoir...

to the east.

Street Bottoms and Street Wood were lost with the formation of the reservoir.