Black Rock on the Great Salt Lake is the subject of this albumen stereoview, published by W. H. Jackson & Co. of Denver, Colorado. William Henry Jackson, one of the most celebrated documentary photographers of the American West, operated his Denver studio at 414 Larimer Street during the 1880s, and views of Utah landmarks were among the regional subjects he regularly offered for sale.

The massive volcanic rock formation rises abruptly from the flat, glassy surface of the lake, its craggy, pitted face and irregular summit rendered in sharp tonal contrast against a pale, featureless sky. The still water surrounding the base of the rock reflects no shoreline or vegetation, emphasizing the formation's isolated, almost monolithic presence. A small secondary rock mass is visible just behind and to the right of the main formation in both views.

Black Rock, located on the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near present-day Salt Lake City, was a well-known bathing resort destination in the late nineteenth century, and it appeared frequently in Western survey and commercial photography of the era.

The mount carries the printed imprint "W. H. Jackson & Co., Photographers, 414 Larimer Street, Denver, Colo." on the recto margins. The title caption printed beneath the left image reads "4714 BLACK ROCK. GREAT SALT LAKE." The reverse is blank.