Swallow Falls centres on white water spilling through layered rock shelves, with dense green woodland closing around the river gorge beneath a bright, cloud-streaked sky.

Water gathers on a shallow shelf before breaking in a wide white curtain into the darker pool below. Another smaller fall appears upstream, creating a clear stepped route through the river channel. Low, blocky rock ledges edge both banks, and leafy branches form a deep green frame that leaves the water and pale sky sharply illuminated.

Swallow Falls is shown through the movement of its cascade rather than a distant panorama. The composition holds the viewer close to the gorge, where foaming water, wet stone and a dense woodland canopy make the scene feel enclosed, while the opening above the trees brings air and light to the upper valley.