Iowa Falls, Iowa

Iowa Falls is a city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. Iowa Falls is the home of Ellsworth Community College. It is also a regional transportation center, located along U.S. Routes 20 and 65 and the Canadian National and Union Pacific Railroads. The population was 5,106 at the time of the 2020 census.

Iowa Falls was laid out and platted in 1856. Prior to being named Iowa Falls, the area had been known as Rocksylvania. However, due to the difficulty of pronunciation and spelling, it was then changed to Iowa Falls. It was named from the falls on the Iowa River.

The Illinois Central Railroad was built through Iowa Falls in 1866.

The Metropolitan Opera House was built in 1899, it presented plays, operas, and vaudeville in the town during the first half of the twentieth century, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Iowa Falls Popcorn Stand, located in Estes Park, is the oldest popcorn stand in Iowa that is still running. It was first opened on May 29, 1948, as "Louie's Korn Krib."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.44 square miles (14.09 km²), of which 5.36 square miles (13.88 km²) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km²) is water.

Iowa Falls is located at the point where the Iowa River flows through a limestone gorge 70 feet (21.34 m) deep between bluffs that rise another 50 feet (15.24 m). The falls themselves were also known as the "rapids of the Iowa." The falls are now submerged by a dam built in 1926 that is 26 feet (7.92 m) feet high and 200 feet long and serves a hydroelectric power station that currently generates 1.5MW.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Iowa Falls has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.