Scottsbluff, NE Gering downtown (0163)

The division between Scottsbluff and Gering puzzled me, as it was one of those places in the middle of vast, rural territories that should by all rights be the same town. The division of the only sizable town for miles into two separate towns seemed horribly inefficient to me. But then, bureaucracies have a way of surviving despite inefficiency.

Isn't it that bureaucracies create inefficiencies so as to survive? :) I'm so used to the odd mixing of cities in urban areas that it didn't even cross my mind that it was odd (which it is) in rural areas. But the river is a key factor here which probably influenced growth. The Platte has always had floods and it may have been difficult to bridge. Probably because of that, the BNSF runs along the north side and UP along the south side, which may have contributed to distinct growth patterns.