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Canyon Country, Santa Clarita

United States United States Canyon

Soledad Canyon

417 m of rock, cut by the Santa Clara River.

See the cutWhen to go

Ponderosapine210 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

417 metres, to scale.

A slice through Soledad Canyon where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

1,040 m745 m417 m21 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.01,040 m745 m417 m21 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m · Eiffel Tower · 330 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is. On one side the ground was still rising 12 km out: the true rim is further away and the canyon deeper.

417m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

21.3km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

30°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

328m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In July the afternoon reaches 38 °C on the floor, against 33 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in March and in November. The floor passes 35 °C from July to August: walk at dawn and carry water. The wettest months are from December to March.

rim · 1,040 mfloor · 328 m
  1. 18°13°Jan
  2. 18°14°Feb
  3. 21°17°Mar
  4. 24°20°Apr
  5. 29°24°May
  6. 34°30°Jun
  7. 38°33°Jul
  8. 38°33°Aug
  9. 35°30°Sep
  10. 28°24°Oct
  11. 22°17°Nov
  12. 17°12°Dec
Hike: Mar, NovFloor above 35 °C: Jul–AugWettest: Dec–Mar

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Canyon/valley in Southern California

Soledad Canyon is a canyon in United States, cut by the Santa Clara River. The relief model measures 417 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 713 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 21 km wide where the cut was taken.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Santa Claritanearest town · 3.6 km in a straight line
  • Parking 1,150 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.5 km from the floor
  • Hollywood Burbank/Bob Hope Airport (BUR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 30 km in a straight lineCar hire at BUR airport (Burbank)Discover Cars · sponsored link
  • In March and in Novemberbest months to hike (estimate)

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The Santa Clara River runs highest from January to February.

The Santa Clara River carries about 3.8 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from January to February. It is lowest from May to November.

  1. 11 m³/sJan
  2. 12 m³/sFeb
  3. 8.8 m³/sMar
  4. 4.2 m³/sApr
  5. 1.5 m³/sMay
  6. 0.6 m³/sJun
  7. 0.4 m³/sJul
  8. 0.4 m³/sAug
  9. 0.4 m³/sSep
  10. 0.9 m³/sOct
  11. 1.8 m³/sNov
  12. 6.6 m³/sDec

From about 0.38 m³/s in the lowest month to 12 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 626 km².

The Santa Clara River from source to mouth on Riveryas — coming soon

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Soledad Canyon seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 3viewpoints within 5 kmLookout Point
  • 1climbing crags within 3 kmTop Out Climbing Gym
  • 43footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 kmLake Paseo and 42 more
  • 168car parks within 3 km
  • 3information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • 20bus stops within 2 km
  • 9campsites within 8 kmGroup Campground 2, Group Campground 6, Group Campground 1 and 6 more
  • 34hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmSanta Clarita Motel, Hotel Lexen, Courtyard Marriot and 31 more
  • 111restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • marked hiking routes within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Santa Clarita3.6 km in a straight line
  • Stevenson Ranch4.8 km in a straight line
  • Canyon Country6.3 km in a straight line
  • Valencia6.6 km in a straight line
  • Castaic10 km in a straight line
  • Val Verde11 km in a straight line
  • Sylmar15 km in a straight line
  • San Fernando18 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Soledad Canyon.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Riveryas4 rivers in the canyon
Santa Clara River134 km · 5.0 m³/sVentura RiverCastaic CreekSespe Creek
Peakyas6 mountains within 15 km
Sand Rock Peak765 m · 7.1 kmSanta Susana Mountains · 11 kmOat Mountain · 11 kmLoma Verde · 12 kmCruzan Mesa · 12 kmMission Point845 m · 13 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soon
Castaic Lake7.3 km² · 12 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor181821242934383835282217
Afternoon · rim131417202430333330241712
Night · rim1134812161613940
Rain (mm)75745021101213182561
Rainy days786320001236
Sun hours/day7.17.79.210.611.713.012.812.511.19.48.16.8
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan18131757.1
Feb18141747.7
Mar21173509.2
Apr242042110.6
May292481011.7
Jun343012113.0
Jul383316212.8
Aug383316112.5
Sep353013311.1
Oct28249189.4
Nov22174258.1
Dec17120616.8

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (328 m) and the rim (1,040 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Soledad Pass2014
Chevy111 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Acton at dawn 2014
Chevy111 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202013%5%248%403%33%————0%23%49%
202160%1%47%10%3%————144%0%369%
20226%3%74%28%0%————12%178%195%
2023314%201%341%4%164%————5%55%147%
202458%366%209%114%19%————2%34%3%
202528%112%107%39%39%————257%665%317%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Soledad Canyon

United States

  • 417 mDepth
  • 21 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 30°Steepest wall

Laurel Canyon

United States · 42 km

  • 135 mDepth
  • 23 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 24°Steepest wall

See the guide

Arroyo Seco

United States · 52 km

  • 61 mDepth
  • 6.1 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 9°Steepest wall

See the guide

Eaton Canyon

United States · 52 km

  • 260 mDepth
  • 13 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 30°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q7557525) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here