Cantil is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California, set in the Mojave Desert along State Route 14 between the town of Mojave and Red Rock Canyon. It sits at an elevation of about 2,000 feet, roughly six miles southwest of the salt-flat settlement of Saltdale, in a landscape of open desert and dramatic rock formations. The community was founded around 1908 or 1909 as a station on the Nevada and California Railroad, part of a series of stations along a line extended from Owens Lake to Mojave. Its name comes from the Spanish word for "steep rock," a fitting description of the rugged terrain. The line later became part of the Southern Pacific's Lone Pine, or "Jawbone," branch, built in part to carry workers and supplies during construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Cantil remains a small, sparsely settled desert community. Its best-known neighbor is Red Rock Canyon State Park, a roughly 27,000-acre preserve of colorful cliffs, buttes, and rock formations where the southernmost Sierra Nevada meets the El Paso Range. The park is a destination for hiking, scenic drives, photography, and film production. The community is served by Red Rock Elementary School and Red Rock Community Day School, which serve students in this remote corner of eastern Kern County. State Route 14 links Cantil to Mojave and the Antelope Valley, and onward toward the Los Angeles region, while the surrounding desert offers wide-open space and dark night skies far from urban development. Cantil's identity is tied closely to the railroad and the desert. The sparse landscape and long sightlines define daily life here, where homes and ranches are scattered across large parcels rather than clustered in a traditional town center. Services are limited, and residents typically travel to Mojave, California City, or the Antelope Valley for shopping and daily needs. For travelers, Cantil serves as the turnoff point for Red Rock Canyon State Park, a stop on State Route 14 between the high desert communities and the Los Angeles Basin. Its location makes it a quiet, remote foothold in one of California's most striking desert settings.