Soledad Canyon, Natural canyon in Los Angeles County, California.

Soledad Canyon is a long valley in Los Angeles County running from Soledad Pass, near Lake Palmdale, down to the open plain of the Santa Clara River Valley at Santa Clarita. It lies between the Sierra Pelona Mountains to the northwest and the San Gabriel Mountains to the southeast, and the upper Santa Clara River flows through it. The photograph shows a broad, winding valley of arid brown and tan hills, with a pale multi-lane road curving along the valley floor and clusters of low light-colored buildings on the lower slopes.

In 1876, the Southern Pacific Railroad laid tracks through Soledad Canyon, creating the first direct rail link between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The route opened up this difficult mountain crossing to regular freight and passenger traffic for the first time.

Soledad Canyon takes its name from the Spanish word for solitude. The canyon holds the Santa Clarita neighborhood of Canyon Country, and the localities of Vincent, Acton, Ravenna and Agua Dulce lie just north of it. The Pacific Crest Trail crosses its western reaches, passing through Agua Dulce and Vasquez Rocks.

Soledad Canyon Road connects Santa Clarita to Acton and is the main road through the canyon, meeting State Route 14 at one end. Visiting in the cooler months is more comfortable, as the canyon gets very hot and exposed in summer with little shade along the way.

Sand and gravel mining ran through this canyon from 1921 to 1989, cutting deep into the hillsides and changing the shape of the terrain in ways that are still visible today. Because of this, parts of the canyon floor look quite different from a natural mountain valley, with flat terraces and exposed slopes left behind by the excavations.