Council Bluffs
The Missouri River town Lincoln picked as the start of the transcontinental railroad.
About this view
Council Bluffs faces Omaha across the Missouri, and it owes its whole shape to one decision: Abraham Lincoln designated it the eastern terminus of the Union Pacific, the starting line of the first transcontinental railroad. He had met the engineer Grenville Dodge here in 1859, before the presidency.
The trains still define the place. The first line reached town in 1862, five had converged by 1870, and the first rail bridge across the Missouri opened in March 1872. Freight moves through this corridor around the clock.
The town takes its name from an 1804 council between the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Otoe, held on bluffs upriver. Central time, UTC−6; long summer evenings are the pick of the year here.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the Council Bluffs live cam located?
- The camera looks over Council Bluffs, Iowa, in United States. Its position is 41.262°N, 95.861°W, which you can open on our world map.
- What time is it at the Council Bluffs camera?
- Council Bluffs, Iowa runs on UTC−5, and the live clock at the top of this page shows the current local time and whether it is day or night there. It is worth checking before you watch: this view changes completely between the middle of the night and the busiest hours of the day.
- Are there other live cams near Council Bluffs, Iowa?
- Yes — the closest ones are Big Spirit Lake, Kansas City and World's Largest Buffalo Monument. They are listed under "Nearby cams" further down this page, and every camera we carry is plotted on the world map.
- Is this stream really live?
- Yes. This is a real 24/7 live feed broadcast by EarthCam, played through the official YouTube player — free, no account needed. Every stream in our catalogue is checked automatically before each update to confirm it is still live and watchable.
