Soledad Canyon

Aerial view of Soledad Canyon, with the Antelope Valley Freeway winding up through it from Santa Clarita toward Palmdale. Agua Dulce is visible in the center of the image, just left of the freeway.

Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon/valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. The upstream section of the Santa Clara River runs through it.

Geography

The canyon lies between the Sierra Pelona Mountains towards the west and the San Gabriel Mountains to the north, starting at the northeastern end of Santa Clarita Valley. As you travel northeast through the canyon, it gradually slopes up until you reach the unincorporated community of Acton, near which the Santa Clara River continues east towards its headwaters among the San Gabriel Mountains. Turning north towards Palmdale, the canyon terminates at Soledad Pass, just a few miles south of Lake Palmdale.

Soledad Canyon also contains the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna, Russ, and Agua Dulce.

It is traversed by the Soledad Canyon Road (the second longest street in Santa Clarita), the Antelope Valley Freeway, and the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line. Travelers on board the Metrolink are afforded a view of much of the Santa Clara River.

View from CA 14 of Soledad Canyon near Acton.

History

Soledad Canyon was a vital part of Los Angeles' transportation history. Transit between Los Angeles and the Central Valley was always difficult–in the "Gold Rush era" and stagecoach days the ride was extremely difficult, almost straight up-and-down through San Fernando Pass, up San Francisquito canyon, and over Tejon Pass. In 1856, Lieutenant Williamson, on a railroad surveying party, "discovered" that the pass, sometimes named "Williamson Pass", could provide the lower grades to make Los Angeles–Central Valley train travel possible by the roundabout detour all the way to Mojave, and over Tehachapi Pass, almost 70 miles farther than the direct Interstate 5 used today by trucks and autos.

In 1876, seven years after the transcontinental railroad was finished, the rail line was laid down Soledad Canyon, linking LA to the north, after a 6,000 foot tunnel through San Fernando pass (still used by Metrolink) and the extraordinary Tehachapi Loop, where trains circle on grades over top of themselves to gain altitude.

In the near future, the canyon will serve as the route for the planned California High-Speed Rail line between Sylmar and Palmdale.

See Also

• Soledad Pass
• Vazquez Rocks
• Angeles National Forest

External links

• (Photos, text, TV shows)