Beale's Cut, Newhall, Southern California

Beale's Cut is a narrow, man-made gap through a ridge near the town of Newhall, in northern Los Angeles County, southern California. This gap (or pass) dates back to 1854, when Phineas Banning dug out a 30-foot gash, in order to allow horse-drawn wagons and stagecoaches to travel through a narrow canyon whose head was blocked by solid rock. The gap occurs in an area that has had a succession of names: Fremont Pass, San Fernando Pass, and more, recently, Newhall Pass.

On the approach to Beale's Cut in April, 1985.
(the view is to the northeast)

Beale's Cut, April, 1985, with a partial silhouette of a person
 and a chain-link fence, for scale.

Beale's Cut, April, 1985.

 Google Earth (2018) image showing a

 bird's eye (vertical) view of Beale's Cut.

In 1861, Edward Fitzgerald Beale deepened the gap to 90 feet in height, thus allowing even better passage to places like Fort Tejon, to the north. At that time, the gap in the canyon became known as Beale's Cut. It was used for vehicles until 1910. It was also used for many silent westerns and was where the American actor Tom Mix and his horse allegedly "jumped the gap," in the movie "Three Jumps Ahead."

Beale's Cut is still in existence, but it suffered during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. Today, it is only 30-feet deep again because of infilling by rock falls. 

It is located just off of Sierra Highway, which is west of Interstate 14. Spotting if from the road level is difficult. Along the side of Sierra Highway there is a small monument/plaque, but the entire area is fenced off now in order to reduce vandalism and trash dumping. There is no place to turn off the road to park your car. 

The gap occurs in the Saugus Formation, a Pleistocene fluvial (ancient river) sandstone deposit associated with the erosion of the adjacent San Gabriel Mountains.