WATERLOO

city, seat (1855) of Black Hawk county, northeastern Iowa, U.S. It lies along the Cedar River, 108 miles (174 km) northeast of Des Moines. The site was first settled in 1845 as Prairie Rapids, and the name Waterloo was adopted in 1851. The town grew as a railroad division point and a regional trade centre. Its industries include meat-packing and the manufacture of tractors and farm equipment. Waterloo hosts the annual (September) National Dairy Cattle Congress. The city is the site of Hawkeye Community College (1966); the University of Northern Iowa (1876) is at nearby Cedar Falls, and Wartburg College (1852) is at Waverly, 17 miles (27 km) north. Inc. 1868. Pop. (1990) city, 66,467; Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSA, 146,611. city, regional municipality of Waterloo, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Its settlement dates from the early 1800s, when a group of Pennsylvania Mennonites led by Abraham Erb settled along the Grand River. The community was named for the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Part of the Guelph-Cambridge-Kitchener metropolitan complex, Waterloo is the headquarters of several national insurance companies and has diversified industries. The University of Waterloo (1957) and the Wilfrid Laurier University (1911) are there. Inc. village, 1857; town, 1876; city, 1948. Pop. (1991) 71,181.