Soledad Canyon is a long narrow canyon/valley located in Los Angeles County, California between the cities of Palmdale and Santa Clarita. It is a part of the Santa Clara River Valley, and extends from the top of Soledad Pass to the open plain of the valley in Santa Clarita. The upstream section of the Santa Clara River runs through it. Geography The canyon lies between the Sierra Pelona Mountains towards the northwest and the San Gabriel Mountains to the southeast, starting at the northeastern end of Santa Clarita Valley. Traveling northeast through the canyon, it gradually slopes up until 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, and Russ. Agua Dulce is just north of the canyon. 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 the mid 1870s, the first rail line was laid down in Soledad Canyon. On September 5, 1876, then president of the Southern Pacific Railroad Charles Crocker drove a golden spike at Lang Southern Pacific Station to complete the San Joaquin Valley Line, the first rail line linking Los Angeles to San Francisco and the First transcontinental railroad. From 1921 to 1989, the Soledad Canyon Sand and Gravel Mining Project mined a downstream region of the canyon for sand and gravel. In 2000, the Bureau of Land Management awarded two 10-year leases to Transit Mixed Concrete (who later sold the contract to the Cemex Corporation) to mine the site. This resulted in a protracted legal battle between the Bureau of Land Management, the Cemex Corporation, and the City of Santa Clarita. In 2015, the