This sepia-toned stereograph features two nearly identical photographs mounted side-by-side on a yellow card, depicting a river landscape nestled between mountain ranges. In the foreground, a rocky, uneven riverbank is scattered with dark stones and sparse vegetation. A dark, rectangular object, possibly a camera equipment box, sits on the ground in the lower-left of the scene. In the midground, a wide, calm river flows toward the center, bordered by a light-colored, sandy beach on the right bank. Steep, craggy mountains with visible ridges and sparse greenery rise sharply on both sides of the river, receding into a misty or hazy background. The sky is a pale, uniform color. The card contains vertical printed text in the margins: "COLORADO RIVER SERIES." on the left and "Explorations West of the 100th Meridian. Expedition of 1872, Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler, Com'dg." on the right. Small text at the bottom left attributes the work to "W. Bell, Phot." while the bottom center contains the caption, "No. 57—Mouth of the Paria." A grayscale calibration strip is visible along the top edge of the digital image, separate from the physical card.