A riverside scene which is busy with activity. Set a little distance from the left bank of the river is a line of ornate town buildings, dominated by a tall, square tower. Along the bank and in the shallows of the river is construction activity, with figures in the water handling bundles of timber, a multitude of boats, and a crane erected on the bank for transporting deliveries carried by boats on to the shore. In the foreground are women in the shallows of the river washing laundry. On the river is a steam packet followed by a smaller boat. The scene is set against a hazy, mountainous backdrop and a sky filled with bright clouds.