Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States.[5] Its population was 62,799 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's tenth most populous city,[6] and the most populous city in Southwest Iowa. The Omaha metropolitan region of which Council Bluffs is a part, is the 58th largest in the United States, with an estimated population of 967,604 (2020).[7] It is located on the east bank of the Missouri River, across from Omaha, Nebraska. Until about 1853 Council Bluffs was known as Kanesville.[8] Kanesville was the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail. Kanesville is also the northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails because there was a steam-powered boat which ferried the settlers' wagons and cattle across the Missouri River.[8] In 1869, the first transcontinental railroad to California was connected to the existing U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs.