The Art Institute's canvas expresses the untamed spirit of the waterfall that so impressed Cole. As was typical, he did not execute the painting directly from nature; his letters indicate that he finished it in London the following year. The completed image bears little resemblance to the actual site in the 1830s, which included factories, scenic overlooks, and hotels to accommodate a growing number of tourists. In his romanticized depiction of the pristine landscape - definitively identified as American by the Native American figures - Cole created a wistful look back at the vanishing wilderness of the United States.