Celestial phenomena form the basis for most cardinal and ordinal directional systems and the same was true anciently.

Fact #1. In temperate and tropical latitudes (south of the Arctic Circle, north of the Antarctic Circle), the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. On a flat horizon, sunrise will be due east and sunset due west twice a year, on the vernal equinox (near March 21) and the autumnal equinox (near September 21). The site of Dzibilchaltun in Yucatan is justifiably famous with tourists partly because of spectacular site alignments on equinox sunrise.

Equinox sunrise, Dzibilchaltun

This is the same structure on vernal equinox about 30 minutes after sunrise.

Equinox sunrise + 30, Dzibilchaltun near Merida

Even more renowned among tourists is the serpent of light that appears on the steps of the Temple of Kukulcan (El Castillo) at Chichen Itza on the afternoon of each equinox.

Serpent image created by the equinoctial afternoon sun

Visual representation of earth's tilted axis

At the equator on a flat horizon, the sun will rise on the summer solstice at a point 23.5 degrees north of due east. On the winter solstice that point will be 23.5 degrees south of due east. So, at the equator throughout one solar year, the sunrise point will vary across 47 degrees of a 360 degree arc, with that variation centered on due east. As one moves north or south of the equator, variation in solstitial sunrise points increases according to the formula 23.5/cosign(latitude). So, for example, the solstitial variation between sunrise points at Guatemala City (15.5 degrees north latitude) is 48.76 degrees on a flat horizon, slightly more than at the equator. The solstitial variation between sunrise points at Mexico City (19 degrees north latitude) is 49.68 degrees on a flat horizon. Mexico City (Teotihuacan) is about the northern extreme of New World locations that could plausibly be referenced in the Book of Mormon text. So, when the Nephites observed sunrise or sunset, they were looking at points on the horizon within 24.84 degrees of due east or due west. As with the equinoxes, solstice sunrise points were important in ancient architectural layouts. This, for example, is the entrance to the  famous Temple of Karnak in Egypt on the winter solstice sunrise.

Entryway, Temple of Karnak, Winter Solstice

Stars in apparent rotation around the pole star

Today, the pole star in the northern hemisphere is Polaris, commonly called the north star. Because of the earth's axial precession, the faint star Gamma Cephei will replace Polaris as the pole star about 1,000 years from now. In 2,000 B.C., the pole star was the faint star Thuban in the constellation Draco. This chart shows the way the pole star changes through the 25,770 years of earth's axial precession cycle.

Precession Polar Star Chart

Sometimes in past ages the celestial pole was simply a void with no visible star at the center of the wheel. Nonetheless, ancient mariners and astronomers oriented to this pole as an unerring indicator of true north at right angles with the eastern sunrise and western sunset.

Biblical Cardinal Directions

The association of east with sunrise is well attested in the Biblical text. Numbers 2:3, Joshua 12:1, Isaiah 45:6, Isaiah 59:19, Ezekiel 8:16,

An interesting textual shift occurs at Alma 50:11, a passage describing events in the Nephite golden age ca. 72 - 71 B.C. Alma 50:23. Captain Moroni's ingenious fortifications worked so well at Noah (1,000+ Lamanites killed in action, 0 Nephites slain Alma 49:23) that the Nephites were busy erecting similar moats, walls & palisades around all of their settlements Alma 50:1. Nephite military forces cleared Lamanites from the east wilderness and drove them south of the east-west line that separated the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the greater land of Nephi on the south Alma 50:7. Nephite settlers were brought in from the heavily populated local land of Zarahemla and environs to occupy the newly vacated eastern lands Alma 50:9. With the founding of the city of Moroni ca. 72 B.C. Alma 50:13 in the extreme south eastern corner of the greater land of Zarahemla, the process of colonizing the east coast that was well underway ca. 77 B.C. in the land of Jershon Alma 27:22 was nearing completion. Up to this point in the text, all of the action in the greater land of Zarahemla had been in the central riverine corridor and points east (all references to the west sea were in the lands of Bountiful and Desolation). Alma 50:11 marks an important turning point when the west began its ascendancy in Nephite affairs.

The word series "north, south, east, west" was formulaic among the Nephites to mean omni directional 2 Nephi 29:11, Mosiah 27:6, Helaman 1:31. The terms "east" and "west" as a duo are coupled 13 times in the text. The order is always east to west from Alma 22:27 through Alma 50:11. Then from Alma 50:34 to 3 Nephi 1:17 the order reverses and is always expressed west to east. To wit:
Alma 22:27       ca. 90 B.C.  sea on the east and on the west
Alma 22:27       ca. 90 B.C.  sea east even to the sea west
Alma 22:27       ca. 90 B.C.  from the east towards the west
Alma 22:29       ca. 90 B.C.  from the east to the west
Alma 22:32       ca. 90 B.C.  from the east to the west sea
Alma 22:33       ca. 90 B.C.  from the east unto the west sea
Alma 50:8         ca. 72 B.C.  from the east sea to the west
Alma 50:11       ca. 72 B.C.  in the east wilderness, yea, and also on the west
-- Textual turning point --
Alma 50:34       ca. 68 B.C.  on the west and on the east
Helaman 3:8      ca. 46 B.C.  from the sea west to the sea east
Helaman 4:7      ca. 35 B.C.  from the west sea, even unto the east
Helaman  11:20 ca. 16 B.C.  from the sea west to the sea east
3 Nephi 1:17      ca. A.D. 1    from the west to the east

What is going on here? The text is telling us that in the ca. 72 B.C. time frame, the Nephite nation, having settled lands from the river all the way to the east coast, changed its focus from an eastward orientation to a westward outlook as the land northward assumed a much greater role in Nephite affairs. We are seeing the first manifestation of a 1) Sidon 2) east then 3) west pattern.

This semantic shift is even more impressive when you realize that 5 of the 13 east, west couplets are describing features that are probably clustered within 30 kilometers of each other in the area along the west coast where the Sierra Madre reaches almost to the Pacific. Click to enlarge.

Cluster of proposed Nephite geographic referents along the west coast near the modern boundary between Oaxaca and Chiapas

The textual transition is clear when we analyze the east west narrow strip of wilderness and the line separating the Nephites in the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the Lamanites in the greater land of Nephi on the south. In this map, the narrow strip of wilderness is shown in green and the Nephite Lamanite line along its northern (uphill) edge in red.

Narrow strip of wilderness (green) ran from the east sea to the west sea with the head of Sidon roughly at its midpoint

Alma 22:27 first says that the northern boundary of the greater land of Nephi ran from the sea on the east to the sea on the west. It then says that the narrow strip of wilderness separating Nephites on the north from Lamanites on the south ran from the sea east to the sea west. Finally, it says that the narrow strip of wilderness ran from the east towards the west, passing by the head of the river Sidon with wilderness areas to its north. Alma 50:8 continues this same theme, adding that the eastern portion of the northern boundary of the greater land of Nephi was more rectilinear than curvilenear. In our correlation, this eastern portion of the boundary generally followed the Polochic/Dulce, roughly parallel to the Motagua.

Eastern portion of the narrow strip of wilderness running in a straight course from the east sea to the west

In Alma 50:11, though, this eastward primacy suddenly changes. We learn that by ca. 72 B.C.:

• Nephite military forces for the first time drove Lamanites out of the wilderness west of the central Sidon corridor
• The Nephites began fortifying the east west dividing line - the northern part of the narrow strip of wilderness that separated the Nephites on the north from the Lamanites on the south
• for the first time, the narrow strip of wilderness was characterized as running from the west sea eastward to the head of Sidon rather than from the east sea westward
• the Nephites for the first time had now begun to inhabit not only the land Bountiful but also the land northward beyond Bountiful. Alma 46:17 ca. 73 B.C. confirms that the Nephites by this time had settled the land Bountiful. 

Going back 18 years to ca. 90 B.C., the text paints quite a different picture:

• While the greater land of Nephi extended westward to the west sea, the greater land of Zarahemla did not. The west wilderness, full of idle Lamanites living in tents, was explicitly west of the greater land of Zarahemla Alma 22:28. The land of Melek was in the central Sidon corridor west of the river with nothing but wilderness west of Melek Alma 8:3.
• While the Lamanites in the west wilderness were exploiting a Nephite settlement vacuum, the Lamanites in the east wilderness had been explicitly driven there by the Nephites' eastward expansion Alma 22:29.
• With the exception of their defensive garrison on the west coast Alma 22:33 the Nephites had not yet inhabited the land Bountiful Alma 22:29.  

These verses make the situation clear: by ca. 90 B.C. the Nephites in the greater land of Zarahemla had settled multiple lands along the central Sidon corridor including the land of Manti in the extreme south just north of the head of Sidon. They had established a defensive outpost in the land Bountiful along the west coast. And, they had begun expanding eastward, driving the Lamanites before them. The settlement of Jershon ca. 77 B.C. was a major milestone in this eastward movement. By ca. 72 B.C. the Nephites had expelled the Lamanites from the entire east wilderness area and were themselves establishing settlements along the east coast from the city of Bountiful on the north to the city of Moroni on the south. Having largely filled in their eastern lands, the Nephites ca. 72 B.C. began to finally turn their attention westward, driving the Lamanites out of the west wilderness and fortifying the east west narrow strip of wilderness line that separated the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the greater land of Nephi on the south.

In the greater land of Zarahemla, the Nephites settled:

1. first, the river Sidon corridor beginning ca. 200 B.C.
2. second, the east with settlement well underway by ca. 90 B.C. The second wave of eastern expansion near the east sea was going strong with the establishment of the land of Jershon by ca. 77 B.C. By ca. 72 - 67 B.C. there were many cities up and down the east coast.
3. third, the west, beginning ca. 72 B.C.

These conclusions come from analyses of two data sources: 1) the list of geographic referents organized by date of first mention in the text (as a surrogate for polity founding date) published in the blog article "Expansion of the Nephite Nation", and 2) a list of all occurrences of the words "Sidon,""east," and "west" organized by contextual date of the passage in which they appear. This second list is available as an Excel spreadsheet here. To download, click first on "File" and then on "Download."

This map shows the first Nephite settlements in the river Sidon corridor, a single defensive outpost in the land Bountiful beside the west sea, and the beginnings of eastward expansion along the San Pedro river as per point #1 above.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 90 B.C. either explicitly attested or inferred in the text

This map adds those lands included in the eastward expansion of the Nephite nation as per point #2 above. The black circles represent areas (Piedras Negras on the north, Altar de Sacrificios/Dos Pilas on the south) unlikely to have ever been under Nephite control at any time.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 67 B.C. explicitly attested in the text

This map adds those lands mentioned in the text as part of the westward expansion of the Nephite nation as per point #3 above.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 66 B.C. attested in the text

Military actions through ca. 78 B.C. Nephite victories are shown as red icons, Lamanite victories as blue

This map adds military actions 10 - 19 with dates through ca. 67 B.C. Note that all of these hostilities are in the central Sidon corridor or the east, except for one area near the Bountiful/Desolation border on the west sea. Again, the hostilities map mirrors the Nephite settlement map for this time period.

Military actions through ca. 67 B.C. - central Sidon corridor, points east, and a single defensive outpost by the west sea

This map adds military actions 20 - 32 with dates through ca. 51 B.C. when the Nephite nation had begun settling the west. Action 30 has no provenance in the text, so cannot be mapped.

Military actions through ca. 51 B.C. Nephite victories in red Lamanite victories in blue

In ca. 34 B.C., the Lamanites conquered all of the greater land of Zarahemla, forcing the Nephites into the land Bountiful and beyond. The following year, the Nephites set up a fortified east west line along the west coast. This map represents military actions 33 & 34. The white overlays represent the greater lands of Nephi and Zarahemla, both under Lamanite control in ca. 33 B.C.

Military actions through ca. 33 B.C. when the Lamanites had conquered the entire greater land of Zarahemla

In ca. 31 B.C., the Nephites under Captain Moronihah regained the northern half of their former territories. This map shows the reduced Lamanite possessions, again as a white overlay. Note how the proposed lands recaptured by Moronihah follow the San Pedro river, northern tributary of the Usumacinta. The lands that from ca. 31 B.C. on were permanent Lamanite territory follow the Pasion river, southern tributary of the Usumacinta.

Military actions through ca. 31 B.C. when the Nephites had regained one half of their former territory

Summary: The Nephites settled the central Sidon corridor from Zarahemla on the north to Manti on the south early in their history. They established a defensive outpost at a key point on the west coast, then began to expand eastward, probably following tributaries of the Sidon. Every Nephite polity in the greater land of Zarahemla referenced in the text through ca. 67 B.C. was along the central Sidon corridor or in the east. The Nephite westward expansion began in ca. 72 B.C. with the first place names in the west appearing in the text 4 years later. The textual semantic, settlement and military action data all match this Sidon - east - then west pattern.

We begin with an interesting research question: Could we locate the seven churches Alma₁ founded in the greater land of Zarahemla Mosiah 25:23 ca. 120 B.C.? Terms of  interest in the text include variations of:

• baptize
• church
• establish
• ordain
• order
• people of God
• priests and teachers
• regulate

Alma₁ founded a church in the wilderness of Mormon near the local land of Nephi ca. 147 B.C. Mosiah 18:17, Mosiah 23:16 when he was about 26 years old. We derive his age by calculating backward from Mosiah 29:45. 27 years later, ca. 120 B.C., Alma₁ and his flock of several hundred Mosiah 18:35 arrived in the local land of Zarahemla Mosiah 24:25 where King Mosiah₂ immediately recognized Alma's priesthood and moral authority Mosiah 25:14. Soon, Alma₁ had founded seven churches throughout the greater land of Zarahemla Mosiah 25:23.

Had the church existed in the greater land of Zarahemla before Alma₁ arrived ca. 120 B.C.? Yes. King Benjamin called priests to teach the gospel Mosiah 6:3 and Ammon at the court of King Limhi knew he held priesthood authority to baptize although he felt personally unworthy to exercise it Mosiah 21:33. But, Alma₁ was such a towering spiritual figure that King Mosiah₂ entrusted him with ecclesiastical affairs Mosiah 26:8 as the senior high priest Mosiah 26:7 throughout the greater land of Zarahemla.

How large were the church congregations Alma₁ established? The text does not say, but we have some parameters to consider:

• As a young church leader in the land of Mormon, Alma₁ consecrated one priest for every fifty congregants Mosiah 18:18. Multiple priests and teachers were ordained for each church unit Mosiah 25:19 in Zarahemla. So, a few hundred believers was probably the minimum number required to plant a new church.
• Another name for churches was "bodies"Mosiah 25:21. The text explicitly says the church bodies in Alma's day were large Mosiah 25:15.
• One criterion for dividing people into a new church body was simply the number of people who could gather in one place and listen to a speaker together Mosiah 25:20. This implies an upper limit of several thousand members per congregation.
• In the great awakening that followed the Amlicite war, about 3,500 people joined the church throughout the greater land of Zarahemla in one year Alma 4:5. 

We know that Alma₁ regulated the affairs of the church Mosiah 26:37 supported by an able lay ministry Mosiah 27:5. During his 29 year tenure as the presiding high priest in the greater land of Zarahemla, many people were baptized Mosiah 26:37, some of them by Alma₁ himself Mosiah 25:18. The aged leader ordained his son, Alma_2 , to succeed him as high priest over the church Mosiah 29:42 and passed away ca. 91 B.C. at age 82 Mosiah 29:45. The text is silent about Alma's journeys on the preaching circuit or specifics about any individual church. We do know that the church of God was generally established throughout all the lands subject to King Mosiah₂ Mosiah 25:19, Mosiah 27:35. So, where were these lands and churches?

Fortunately, Alma₂ was one of the principal Nephite record keepers and we have detailed information about his life and ministry. Soon after Alma₂ was ordained high priest by his father and given charge over all the affairs of the church, he was also appointed chief judge by the voice of the people Mosiah 29:42. He occupied this dual role for approximately eight years from ca. 91 B.C. to ca. 83 B.C. Alma 4:18. During those years, he presided over capital cases Alma 1:14, led the Nephite armies in battle Alma 2:16, and baptized many in the waters of Sidon Alma 4:4. Then, in the ninth year of the reign of the judges, Alma₂ turned the chief judgeship over to Nephihah Alma 4:20 and began his famous missionary journeys bearing pure testimony Alma 4:19.

Alma₂ taught and ordained priests and teachers to preside and watch over the church that was previously established in the city of Zarahemla Alma 6:1. So, we know that one of the seven churches founded by Alma₁ was in the capital city of Zarahemla. Alma 5:1-2 implies that there were other churches in the local land of Zarahemla in addition to the one in the principal city. Analyzing ancient settlement pattern data in our proposed local land of Zarahemla, three densely populated regions stand out - the Emiliano Zapata area which we correlate with the city of Zarahemla, the Balancan area, and the Palenque area. These regions are shown as white circles (average radius 12.5 kilometers) in the map below.

3 areas with large populations anciently in our proposed local land of Zarahemla

We propose that three of Alma's seven churches were in the local land of Zarahemla, roughly corresponding to the locations indicated in the map above.

Alma₂ then crossed the river and taught and established the order of the church in the land of Gideon as he had previously done in Zarahemla Alma 8:1. The church in Gideon, though, was already established before Alma's arrival Alma 6:8. In fact, Alma₂ apologized to the good people of Gideon - since becoming high priest over eight years ago, he had never before communicated with them face to face Alma 7:1. From this we learn that one of the seven churches founded by Alma₁ was in the land of Gideon.

One of Alma's seven churches was in Gideon

Next on Alma's itinerary was the land of Melek west of the river. Alma₂ taught and baptized Alma 8:4-5 in Melek as he had previously done in Zarahemla. This verbiage indicates he was working within an existing church organization as a visiting authority with convening power rather than calling leaders and planting a new church. So, another of Alma's seven churches was in the land of Melek.

Proposed land of Melek west of Sidon, another of Alma's original seven churches

After Melek, Alma₂ ventured into hostile territory in apostate Ammonihah three day's north of Melek Alma 8:6. The church of Nehor, later led by Amlici, was headquartered in Ammonihah Alma 14:16-18, Alma 15:15, Alma 16:11. Nevertheless, the text makes it clear that prior to Nehor and Amlici the church of God had been established in Ammonihah.

Proposed land of Ammonihah where the true church once existed

The seventh church we believe was probably in the land of Minon south of and upstream from the local land of Zarahemla, although nothing in the text explicitly indicates this. The only other candidates might be the lands of Noah or less likely, Manti, or the city of Aaron, all attested in the text by ca. 82 B.C. By the time of  Alma₂ and the four sons of Mosiah₂, Manti was well-established along the north south Zarahemla to Nephi corridor Alma 16:7, and eventually Alma₂ attempted to travel there Alma 17:1. In the ca. 120 B.C. time frame, though, when Alma₁ founded the seven churches, people were still getting lost trying to travel between Nephi and Zarahemla and vice versa (see the blog article "Water Fight on the River - Round Five"). It is not likely that Manti was part of the Nephite nation at that early date. Noah and Aaron are less likely than Minon simply because they are further away from the local land of Zarahemla. When Alma₂ got to the land of Sidom, ca. 81 B.C., he founded the church there Alma 15:13. Sidom was distant enough from the Nephite culture core it had only recently been brought into Zarahemla's orbit. The same was probably true for Noah and Aaron. So, we propose that one of Alma's seven churches was in the land of Minon.

Proposed seven churches in the greater land of Zarahemla

Mosiah 27:2 says that the seven churches founded by Alma₁ were in the "land round about" the city of Zarahemla. Mosiah 27:32 adds that they were "round about through all the land". The red line shows our interpretation of this circularity.

Seven churches in the land round about Zarahemla

How far distant were the seven church bodies from each other? In our correlation above, the red circle has a radius of 65 kilometers. The text says Alma's most arduous journey Alma 8:3 on this circuit was the one from the city of Zarahemla to Melek, shown in magenta on the map below. The term "take journey" in Nephite parlance implies long, tough travel.

Proposed journey from the city of Zarahemla to the land of Melek

The Zarahemla to Melek journey plotted above runs for 135 air (straight-line) kilometers which would require about 9 day's travel according to our standard metric (see the blog article "Land Southward Travel Times"). Highest elevation en route: 388 meters.

The text evidences an all too human pattern of societal upheaval followed by resurgent interest in religion. Some examples:

• In Mosiah 25, ca. 120 B.C., Nephite society in the greater land of Zarahemla was fundamentally transformed with the influx of Alma's and King Limhi's peoples. King Mosiah₂ authorized Alma₁ to establish churches throughout all the land Mosiah 25:19.
• In Alma 4, ca. 86 B.C., the Nephites were suffering because of the severe devastation brought on by the Amlicite war Alma 4:2-3. They began to establish the church more fully and many were baptized Alma 4:4.
• In Alma 45, ca. 73 B.C., the war with Zerahemnah caused massive casualties Alma 44:21 and major disruptions in the church Alma 45:21. Helaman led a nationwide renewal throughout the church organization Alma 45:22.
• In Alma 62, ca. 57 B.C., following the lengthy war with Amalickiah/Ammoron, the church was in disarray. Once again, Helaman led a resurgence throughout all the land Alma 62:44-46.

On Thursday, August 2, 2012 I had a lengthy conversation with John L. Sorenson following his excellent presentation at the FAIR Conference about his forthcoming book, Mormon's Codex. I promised to send him an article demonstrating from the Book of Mormon that the associated Nephite polities Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom were all east of Sidon, not west of the river as most students of the text have assumed for more than 100 years. This is that article in PDF format: Ammonihah Noah & Sidom all East of Sidon. Since many browser-based PDF viewers lack functionality, you may wish to click on File and Download to read the PDF in a native viewer on your local machine.
--
Some of this material was presented at the 10th Annual BMAF Lands of the Book of Mormon Conference held at the Salt Lake Sheraton on Saturday, October 20, 2012. You can view that presentation in this YouTube video filmed and edited by Robert Starling. The first 13 minutes of the video deal with the Ammonihah East of Sidon issue. The final 47 minutes of the video show John W. (Jack) Welch and me presenting a history of Book of Mormon Studies in the 20th Century.
--
My intent with this material is to be provocative. I believe the Book of Mormon deserves to be taken seriously by much larger audiences worldwide. Demonstrating a verifiable New World setting after 182 years (1830 - 2012) would go a long way toward establishing the kind of credibility that would invite global interest in the book. Book of Mormon geography has been a fringe topic within LDS culture for generations, mired in ambiguity which has bred controversy. With the confluence of Royal Skousen's critical text, detailed historical-contextual exegesis from scholars such as Grant Hardy, and the unprecedented power and accessibility of Google Earth, significant progress toward a viable consensus map now seems possible. This article is an attempt to move the dial in that direction.
--
Ammonihah, Noah & Sidom all East of Sidon
For well over a century, almost all Book of Mormon geography models have located the associated Nephite polities Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom west of river Sidon. Here are a few examples, beginning with Jeremy Skidmore's artistic representation.

Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom, west of river Sidon, outlined in red

Joel Hardy originated this handy block diagram. Notice that he posits two cities of Aaron, one near Ammonihah and another east of the river near Nephihah and Moroni.

Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom, west of river Sidon, outlined in red

This useful image came from a presentation Steve Carr gave in 2008 at the 6th Annual BMAF Lands of the Book of Mormon Conference in Salt Lake City.

Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom, west of Sidon, outlined in red

John L. Sorenson's highly influential internal map has received wide distribution.

Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom, west of Sidon, outlined in red

P. Douglas Kiester is a dedicated student of the text with many innovative ideas. His Sidon is in northwestern Colombia just south of Panama.

Ammonihah, west of Sidon, outlined in red

The late Daniel H. Ludlow first created this internal map. Versions of it have been widely published in Church Educational System (CES) manuals.

Ammonihah, Noah and Sidom, west of Sidon, outlined in red

Joseph L. Allen is the dean of Book of Mormon tour guides. He and his son, Blake, published this map in 2008. Their Sidon is the Grijalva River in southern Mexico.

Ammonihah, west of Sidon, outlined in red

We could continue multiplying examples, but you get the idea.

I have the pleasure of conversing with V. Garth Norman frequently. He is one of the most astute students of the Book of Mormon in our generation. He, along with many others, believes the narrow neck of land referenced in Alma 63:5, Ether 10:20 and possibly Alma 22:32 is the entire Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico. I do not believe the text supports that correlation. This article will place Tehuantepec in context among the isthmuses of the world to lay the foundation for relevant Book of Mormon exegesis.

Geographers identify the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as that land in Mexico between the 94th and 96th meridians of west longitude. Its surface area (including water) is 57,629 square kilometers. That is larger than any of the 9 smallest states in the U.S. and nearly the size of West Virginia.

• 14.40 times larger than Rhode Island, 4,002 square kilometers
• 8.94 times larger than Delaware, 6,447 square kilometers
• 4.01 times larger than Connecticut, 14,357 square kilometers
• 2.55 times larger than New Jersey, 22,588 square kilometers
• 2.38 times larger than New Hampshire, 24,216 square kilometers
• 2.31 times larger than Vermont, 24,901 square kilometers
• 2.11 times larger than Massachusetts, 27,336 square kilometers
• 2.04 times larger than Hawaii, 28,311 square kilometers
• 1.79 times larger than Maryland, 32,133 square kilometers
• 91.83% as large as West Virginia, 62,755 square kilometers

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is larger than dozens of countries on earth including Croatia (56,594 square kilometers), Denmark (43,094 square kilometers), Taiwan (36,193 squarer kilometers) or Israel (20,770 square kilometers). Placing a north-south transect at the narrowest point, the width of the isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of Campeche) and the Pacific Ocean (Gulf of Tehuantepec) is 216 kilometers. Placing an east-west transect between the 94th and 96th meridians of west longitude, the length of the isthmus is 211 kilometers. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, as defined by geographers, is shows as a white polygon on the map below. As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.

Isthmus of Tehuantepec in white, surface area 57,629 square kilometers

Parts of 4 Mexican states are included in the isthmus: Oaxaca, Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas. The name comes from the Oaxacan town of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec. The name "Tehuantepec" derives from the Nahuatl "tecuani-tepec" or "jaguar hill". Shortly before the Spanish conquest, the Aztecs conquered Santo Domingo Tehuantepec, but only after a prolonged siege battle. The locals fought ferociously from fortified positions on a prominent hill (summit 120 meters) east of the Tehuantepec River. This Google Earth view shows the hill just above the yellow line representing the Tehuantepec River, on the right hand side of the image with the modern town built up around it.

Modern town of Santo Domingo Tehuantepec showing jaguar hill

Because the natives fought like jaguars on their hill, the Aztecs named the place tecuani-tepec.

Isthmian rivers, continental divide and railroad

Chivela Pass funnels prevailing winds, known as Tehuanos, from south to north. Occasionally, contrary winds blow through the pass in the opposite direction, from north to south, with such force that they have been known to sandblast paint from ships in the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The largest wind power project in Latin America is currently under development on the Oaxacan side of the isthmus. Elevations within the isthmus range from 2,500 meters to sea level. Five different climatic zones are present in this area. The following map shows the world standard Koppen climate classification system for Mexico.

Koppen climate map of Mexico showing five zones within the isthmus

In general, the southern side of the isthmus is much drier than the northern side. This is graphically shown in a NASA true color satellite image taken in April at the height of the dry season.

NASA Blue Marble image of the isthmian region in April

Satellite images of the earth's lights at night provide a good visual representation of relative population density. Notice that in the Tehuantepec region, both coasts are heavily populated while the interior Selva Zoque remains largely in its natural state.

NASA image of the earth's lights at night

This same pattern held true anciently. Plotting archaeological sites known to science from the EAAMS database, we find settlement activity on both coasts with a large blank spot in the middle.

Known archaeological sites

The point is that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a very large place with a great deal of physiographic and cultural diversity. How large is it? It is the widest isthmus on the planet (Panama is the longest). Geographers consider anything wider than Tehuantepec part of a continental land mass rather than an isthmus. Some geographers even consider Tehuantepec too wide to be classified as an isthmus. Here is a comprehensive, although not exhaustive, list of generally accepted isthmuses (aka isthmi) organized in ascending order by width at the narrowest point:

Isthmuses of the World
Isthmus	Between	and	Width (km)	Notes
Bruny Island, Tasmania	North Bruny	South Bruny	0.04
Olympia, Washington	West Olympia	East Olympia	0.04
Nahant, Massachusetts	Nahant	Masachusetts	0.06
Quetrihue, Argentina	Quetrihue Peninsula	Neuquen, Argentina	0.09
Mavis Grind, Shetland Islands	North Mavine Peninsula	Shetland	0.11
La Coupee, Sark, Channel Islands	Little Sark	Sark	0.12
Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania	Tasman Peninsula	Tasmania	0.14
Portland Beach, U.K.	Portland Bill	Dorset, England	0.16
Bardsey Island, U.K.	North Bardsey	South Bardsey	0.19
Derbyhaven, U.K.	Langness Peninsula	Isle of Man	0.20
Coronado, California	Coronado Island	California	0.25
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Newfoundland	Island of Miquelon	Langlade Island	0.25
Sutton, Dublin, Ireland	Howth	Ireland	0.37
Cape Clear Island, Ireland	Gathabawn	Cape Clear	0.43
Kushimoto, Japan	Cape Shiono-Misaki	Honshu Island	0.47
Catalina Island, California	Western Catalina	Eastern Catalina	0.61
Munoz Gamero Peninsula, Chile	Munoz Gamero	Chile	0.80
Madison, Wisconsin	Lake Mendota	Lake Monona	0.93
Bolbs, Spain	Gibraltar	Spain	1.08
Potidea, Greece	Kassandra Peninsula	Greece	1.08
East Falkland Island	Northern East Falkland	Southern East Falkland	1.24
Sechelt, British Columbia	Sechelt Peninsula	Canada	1.25
Llondudno, Wales	Great Orme	Wales	1.29
Rongotai, New Zealand	Miramar Peninsula	North Island, N.Z.	1.31
Similk Beach, Washington	Fidalgo Island	Washington	1.75
Tarbert, Scotland	Kintyre Peninsula	Scotland	2.17
			2.96	median
Auckland, New Zealand	Northern Peninsula	North Island, N.Z.	3.75
Seattle, Washington	Puget Sound	Lake Washington	4.00
Medanos, Venezuela	Medanos Peninsula	Venezuela	4.05
Summerside, Prince Edward Island	Western P.E.I.	Prince Edward Island	4.12
Carlos Ameghino, Argentina	Valdes Peninsula	Chubut, Argentina	5.07
Avalon, Newfoundland	Avalon Peninsula	Newfoundland	5.75
Corinth, Greece	Peloponnese Peninsula	Greece	5.80	etymological origin
Perekop, Crimea	Crimea	Ukraine	9.46
Westfjords, Iceland	Westfjords Peninsula	Iceland	9.47
Rhins of Galloway, Scotland	Galloway Peninsula	Scotland	9.60
Maui, Hawaii	West Maui	Maui	11.00
Quezon, Philippines	Bicol Peninsula	Luzon	12.00
Punta Arenas, Chile	Brunswick Peninsula	Chile	15.00
Rivas, Nicaragua	Lake Nicaragua	Pacific Ocean	18.00
			20.20	mean
Ofqui, Chile	Taitao Peninsula	Chile	21.00
Chignecto, Nova Scotia	Nova Scotia	Canada	24.00
Adam's Bridge (former isthmus), India	India	Sri Lanka	29.00
Catanzaro, Italy	Calabria Peninsula	Italy	30.00
Kra Isthmus, Thailand	Malay Peninsula	Asia	43.00
Karelian Isthmus, Russia	Gulf of Finland	Lake Ladoga	46.00
Forth-Clyde, Scotland	Scottish Highlands	Central Lowlands	50.00
Panama	Central America	South America	57.00
Suez, Egypt	Sinai Peninsula	Egypt	122.00
Olonets, Russia	Lake Onega	Lake Ladoga	125.00
Onega, Russia	Lake Onega	White Sea	154.00
Tehuantepec, Mexico	North America	Central America	216.00
			20.20	mean
			2.96	median

This article will analyze all 17 occurrences of the word "narrow," all 10 occurrences of the word "strait" and all 50 occurrences of the word "small" in the Book of Mormon text in an attempt to deduce the meanings of those terms in Nephite usage.
1. 1 Nephi 8:20, 2 Nephi 31:18, and 2 Nephi 31:19 all describe a strait and narrow path that leads by a rod of iron along a river of water toward the tree of life. People press forward along this path, holding on to the rod of iron 1 Nephi 8:24, 1 Nephi 8:30. In this context, the words "narrow" and "strait" connote a distance probably less than 5 meters wide.
2. Helaman 3:29 employs similar wording to describe a strait and narrow course leading across an awful gulf. The scriptural imagery suggests a foot bridge crossing a canyon, wide enough for a single pedestrian. In this context, the words "narrow" and "strait" connote a distance probably less than 5 meters wide.
3. 2 Nephi 9:41 introduces the idea of a gate one must go through to access a narrow way or path leading to the Lord and life. 2 Nephi 31:9 and 2 Nephi 33:9 use the words "narrowness" and "narrow" to describe the gate and the words "straitness" and "strait" to describe the path. The more common Book of Mormon usage reverses the word order so the gate is "strait" and the way is "narrow"Jacob 6:11, 3 Nephi 14:14, 3 Nephi 27:33. The gate and the way are restrictive enough that few people find them. In this context, the words "narrow" and "strait" connote a distance probably less than 5 meters wide.
4. 3 Nephi 14:13 and 3 Nephi 27:33 further clarify that "strait" is an antonym of "wide" and "narrow" is an antonym of "broad." A wide gate and a broad way can accommodate many people while a strait gate and a narrow way admit only a few. These texts are straightforward. The word "narrow" describes a distance on a human scale, something on the order of a few meters in width.

Other passages, though, expand our view. 1 Nephi 21:19-20 comes from the 49th chapter of Isaiah which describes the future gathering of the House of Israel following the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom ca. 720 B.C. When Joshua (from the tribe of Ephraim 1 Chronicles 7:27) allocated territory to the tribes following the Israelite conquest of Palestine, the house of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) complained that their lands west of Jordan were too small for their large populations Joshua 17:14. Joshua gave them the opportunity to acquire additional territory through military conquest Joshua 17:15. In this text the word "narrow" describes the trans-Jordan land originally allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. This map of Palestine will help quantify the Josephites' complaint.

Map of Palestine with distances noted

Dan to Beersheba was the Biblical transect representing the entire north to south extension of the Israelite nation Judges 20:1 (and 9 other Old Testament references). This is a straight line (air) distance of 235 kilometers. The land originally granted to the tribes of Ephraim and one-half of Manasseh extended from Bethel in the south to the Plains (or Valley) of Jezreel in the north. This is a distance of 65 kilometers. The original land grant to this portion of the house of Joseph was west of Jordan, so a reasonable approximation of the size of their territory would be 70 kilometers X 70 kilometers or approximately 4,900 square kilometers. This is larger than the state of Rhode Island (4,002 square kilometers) and slightly smaller than Utah County, Utah (5,188 square kilometers). The sense of Joshua 17:15, then, is that the house of Joseph considered a land area of approximately 4,900 square kilometers insufficient ("too narrow") for 2 (actually 1.5) of the largest tribes of Israel. Isaiah 49 (1 Nephi 21) describes the glorious future return of the dispersed tribes of Israel. They will "inherit the desolate heritages"1 Nephi 21:8 or in other words, re-inhabit the lands originally granted to them. Their numbers will be so great that like Ephraim and Manasseh of old, they will complain that their allotted lands are "too narrow" and "too strait"1 Nephi 21:19-20 for their large populations. The original territory assigned by Joshua to all 13 (Joseph received a double portion Joshua 14:4) of the tribes of Israel on both sides of Jordan was on the order of 25,000 square kilometers. This is approximately the size of the state of Vermont (24,901 square kilometers) and somewhat larger than San Juan County, Utah (20,254 square kilometers). So, the sense of 1 Nephi 21:91-20 is that the returning house of Israel in the last days will find even the entire original land of Israel inadequate ("too narrow,""too strait") for their numbers.

There is a fundamental difference between the "narrow" and "strait" things discussed in points 1-4 above and the use of those terms in Isaiah 49 (1 Nephi 21) and Joshua 17. When the scriptures call a gate, path, way or course "narrow" or "strait" the words are simple adjectives describing an intrinsic characteristic of the nouns "gate", "path", "way" or "course." When the scriptures describe a geographic region as "too narrow" for a given large population, the word "too" is an adverb modifying the adjective "narrow" under a certain condition "by reason of the inhabitants"1 Nephi 21:19. The same pattern holds in the next verse where the word "too" is an adverb modifying the adjective "strait" under a certain condition "for me"1 Nephi 21:20 meaning for the entire returning house of Israel in the last days. Does the Book of Mormon or the Old Testament ever use the terms "narrow" or "strait" to describe an intrinsic characteristic of an extension of territory as large as the Holy Land or some region within it? No. On the contrary, after Joshua had destroyed dozens of the kingdoms whose lands the Israelites inherited, the Lord spoke to his prophet and described the regions still unconquered as "very much land"Joshua 13:1. The entire territory divided among the tribes of Israel is called variously:

• "the country"Joshua 19:51 (and dozens of other references, variant reading "this country")
• "all the land"Joshua 21:43 (and many other references, variant reading "all this land")
• "the good land"Joshua 23:16 (and many other references, variant reading "this good land")
• "the land"Judges 2:1 (and dozens of other references, variant reading "this land")

When the tribe of Dan conquered Laish and established their eponymous city in its place, they described the surrounding region as "a large land"Judges 18:10.

So, the sense of 1 Nephi 21:19-20 does not imply that the Israelites considered any portion of their territory in Palestine inherently "narrow" or "strait."

This concludes our analysis of the word "strait" in the Book of Mormon. We are ready to examine some very interesting things that are "narrow."

5. A narrow strip of wilderness Alma 22:27 ran from the sea east by the head of Sidon to the sea west dividing the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the greater land of Nephi on the south. In a parallel text Alma 50:11, Mormon described this Nephite/Lamanite boundary as a "line" running from the west sea by the head of Sidon with the greater land of Nephi on the south and the greater land of Zarahemla on the north. In ca. 72 B.C., the Nephite city of Moroni was built just north of this line Alma 50:13. How wide might this narrow strip or line of wilderness have been? Wilderness by its very nature would be wider than any man-made feature such as a road or wall. A few kilometers seems reasonable. Could anything much wider than 5 kilometers qualify as intrinsically narrow? It could hardly be considered a line. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea is generally considered a "strip" rather than a "narrow strip." It is 4 kilometers wide running 250 kilometers from sea to sea with a line, the military demarcation line (MDL), running right down the middle. In the article "Land Southward Travel Times" in this blog, we analyze a number of known historical journeys to deduce a reasonable distance in straight line (air) kilometers for the standard Nephite measure one day's travel. Our resulting rule of thumb is 15 kilometers. If the narrow strip of wilderness averaged 5 kilometers in width a typical Nephite could cross it in one third of a day. That seems reasonable for a physio-graphic feature continental in scope. In this context, the  narrow strip of wilderness probably did not exceed 5 kilometers in width.          
6. A strategic narrow pass Alma 50:34; Alma 52:9; Mormon 3:5 led between the land southward and the land northward, at the border between the lands of Bountiful on the south and Desolation on the north. This pass led by the seacoast. It had salt water to the west and more salt water to the east. It was a small enough place that a Nephite army numbering in the hundreds, perhaps thousands, certainly not tens of thousands could secure it against Lamanite attack. When major battles were fought there near the end of the Nephite era, enemy dead were cast into the sea. It sounds like a place with saltwater lagoons or tidal flats where a spur from a coastal mountain range reaches almost to the water's edge. In order to fit these criteria, the narrow pass could not have been more than 1 or 2 kilometers wide at most, with a few dozen or hundreds of meters more likely.
7. A narrow neck of land Alma 63:5; Ether 10:20 led between the land southward and the land northward, at the border between the lands of Bountiful on the south and Desolation on the north. This narrow neck was on the west seacoast at a point where salt water created a division between stretches of dry land. Ocean-going vessels launched nearby. It sounds like a sand bar running along a seacoast fronting an inter-coastal waterway or a series of saltwater lagoons. How large are known necks of land? A cemetery in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, established in 1687, is called the "Neck of Land Cemetery." The neck refers to land between the Taunton and Mill (aka Little) Rivers. On this 1858 map, the cemetery is circled in red.

Neck of Land Cemetery, Taunton, Massachusetts

Locating the same area on Google Earth allows us to measure the width of this neck of land.

Closeup of Neck of Land Cemetery, Taunton, Massachusetts

Setting a ruler in Google Earth, we see that the distance between rivers across this neck is .22 kilometers or 220 meters.

North east of Joplin, Missouri is a small town named Neck City. Located near the point where Duval Creek and the North Fork of Spring River come close enough to form a neck of land, Neck City was once a mining boom town called "Hell's Neck."

Neck City, Missouri

The neck of land between 2 streams that gives Neck City its name is .62 kilometers or 620 meters wide.

A single river can also form a neck of land. In Halifax County, North Carolina, the Roanoke River makes a loop known locally as "the neck." The town of Scotland Neck derives its name from a group of Scottish immigrants who in 1722 settled near the neck of the Roanoke.

Scotland Neck, North Carolina

At the points indicated on the map, the neck of the Roanoke River is 8.29 kilometers wide.

In Herefordshire, UK, a meander in the Wye River creates a landform the British call a "neck of land."

Wye River Neck of Land, Herefordshire, UK

The distance across the base of this neck is .49 kilometers or 490 meters.

Neck-o-Land Road, Williamsburg, Virginia

We have looked at every occurrence of the terms "narrow,""strait," and "small" in the text of the Book of Mormon in an attempt to deduce meaning based on Nephite usage. See the article "Narrow and Small Things" in this blog. Our overarching purpose in this rather laborious exercise was to shed light on the enigmatic narrow (small) neck of land referenced in Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5 and Ether 10:20. There is, however, one other use of the term "neck" in a geographic context in the text of the Book of Mormon that we should analyze. The relevant passage is 2 Nephi 18:8 quoting Isaiah 8:8. "And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel." This passage refers to the Assyrian destruction of the Northern Kingdom ca. 720 B.C. and the subsequent destruction of most of the Southern Kingdom ca. 701 B.C. "He" refers to the king of Assyria, Sargon and then Sennacherib. A gentle brook represents good government, while an overflowing torrent symbolizes conquest and tyranny. That is the sense of 2 Nephi 18:7 where the Assyrian juggernaut is characterized as a flood raging through Israel. The Assyrian invasion is also represented as a bird of prey whose large wings cover the entire breadth of the land of Israel. Josephus (De Bello, lib. iii, ch. ii) describing Jerusalem, says "Jerusalem, eminent above all the surrounding region, as the head of the body." This image from Google Maps with the terrain layer turned on shows Jerusalem in the Judean hill country. The Temple Mount, as a benchmark, sits at an elevation of 740 meters.

Jerusalem Among the Judean Hills

Isaiah referenced the same metaphor Josephus recorded - Jerusalem was the head of the body and the Assyrian invasion reached almost to the head like a flood whose waters rose up to a man's neck.This idea of the conquerors reaching the neck, but not the head, is also found in Isaiah 30:28 and Habakkuk 3:13. We know from many sources that ca. 701 B.C. Sennacherib and his Assyrian army laid siege to Jerusalem. This was the origin of Hezekiah's Tunnel, famous with modern tourists visiting Jerusalem. After laying waste to 46 cities throughout the kingdom of Judah (Sennacherib Prism, currently in the Oriental Institute, Chicago) the formidable Assyrian war machine encamped around Jerusalem and was destroyed by divine intervention as recorded in Isaiah 37:36 and 2 Kings 19:35. This awesome display of divine protection gave rise to the tradition of Jerusalem's invincibility evident in 1 Nephi 2:13.

This Google Earth image shows Jerusalem's old city, the approximately 90 hectares (.9 square kilometers) that comprise the UNESCO World Heritage site. The Temple Mount itself is a model superimposed over Google Earth's base satellite imagery. Vertical exaggeration is 3X to highlight the topography.

Modern Old City Jerusalem with Temple Mount Model

Archaeological sources tell us that Jerusalem in 598 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and installed Zedekiah as a puppet ruler was about 50 hectares in size, or about one-half the size of the modern old city. See Margreet Steiner, Excavations in Jerusalem by K M Kenyon 1961 - 1967, Vol. III: The Settlement in the Bronze and Iron Ages (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001).

Visualization of the "Neck" around Jerusalem

A "neck" of land 2 kilometers wide is clearly in line with the results we found by analyzing all occurrences of the words "narrow,""strait," and "small" in the text of the Book of Mormon. See the blog article "Narrow and Small Things."

The 3 most recent articles in this blog:

• "Another Geographic Neck"
• "Narrow and Small Things"
• "Isthmuses"

have laid important groundwork that will now allow us to establish the textual requirements and identify a viable candidate for the narrow (small) neck of land referenced in Alma 22:31-33, Alma 63:5-8 and Ether 10:19-21. For reasons why we believe all 3 passages refer to the same geographic feature, see point #18 at the end of the article "Narrow and Small Things."

Careful exegesis of the relevant texts allows us to identify fifteen criteria the narrow (small) neck must satisfy, enumerated as 1 - 15 with aqua shading.

• These texts reference the land northward and the land southward. The lay of the land in this part of Nephite territory should be explicitly southward to northward 1, not south to north or east to west Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5, Ether 10:21.
• The narrow (small) neck was by the west sea 2Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5.
• It was near a border between the land Desolation on the north and the land Bountiful on the south 3 Alma 22:31-32, Alma 63:5. This Bountiful/Desolation line was also the border between the land northward and the land southward.
• The Bountiful/Desolation line was oriented east-west 4Alma 22:32-33.
• The Bountiful/Desolation line terminated at the west sea 5Alma 22:32.
• The Bountiful/Desolation line was a natural strategic line of defense 6. If the Nephite military could hold this line, they could prevent hostile incursions coming up from the land southward into the land northward Alma 22:33.
• The east-west Bountiful/Desolation line was approximately 22.5 kilometers 7 long Alma 22:32. For a data-driven derivation of the standard Nephite unit of measure "one day's travel," see the article "Land Southward Travel Times" in this blog. 
• The narrow (small) neck was a natural travel corridor 8 for people moving both northward and southward Alma 63:5, Ether 10:19.
• The greater land of Zarahemla combined with the greater land of Nephi were nearly surrounded by water Alma 22:32. The narrow (small) neck on the west seacoast was part of this perimeter 9 of water.
• The narrow (small) neck lay between 10 the land northward and the land southward Alma 22:32. Coming up from the land southward, the neck led into the land northward Alma 63:5. The actual boundary between the  lands northward and southward was a line Alma 22:32 so part of the neck lay northward of the line and part lay southward.
• Near the narrow (small) neck was a harbor 11 suitable for berthing and launching ocean-going vessels. This harbor was just south of (on the Bountiful side of) the Bountiful/Desolation line Alma 63:5.
• By the narrow (small) neck the Jaredites in the days of King Lib built a great city 12Ether 10:20. See the blog article "Great Cities" for context behind that term. This city should be located northward of the Bountiful/Desolation line since the Jaredites reserved the land southward for hunting game Ether 10:21. 
• Near the narrow (small) neck is a dramatic natural feature where the sea divides the land 13Ether 10:20. This means we will find a land-salt water-land pattern in the topography.
• At times, large portions of the land southward were a game preserve Ether 10:21filled with wild animals 14Alma 22:31.
• In order to qualify as narrow and small, the neck of land should not exceed 5 kilometers in width 15. See the blog article "Narrow and Small Things" for a comprehensive analysis of the meaning of the terms "narrow" and "small" in Nephite usage.

Our candidate for the narrow (small) neck of land is the coastal sand bar running between the Mexican states of Oaxaca on the northward and Chiapas on the southward.

Possible Narrow (Small) Neck of Land

Zooming in, we find that this part of the Mexican Pacific coast has a vast network of salt water lagoons, tidal flats and estuaries.

Possible Narrow (Small) Neck of Land Closeup

This sandbar is known locally as Barra San Marcos in Chiapas and Barra de Tonala in Oaxaca.

The criteria:
1. The lay of the land in this part of Middle America is decidedly southeast to northwest.

316 Degree Heading of  Coastal Chiapas

The vector in the map above is on a heading of 316.02 degrees. 360 would be due north. 270 would be due west. 315 would be due North West. The terms "southward" and "northward" fit precisely. Criterion 1 satisfied.

2. Our candidate narrow (small) neck is on the west seacoast, just as the text requires.

Proposed North, South, West and East Seas

Criterion 2 satisfied.

Mulek, Lehi, Desolation & Bountiful

Key points: The land Bountiful (in green) was the northern tier of the land southward. The land Desolation (in brown)  was the southern tier of the land northward. The Bountiful/Desolation boundary was also the land southward/land northward boundary. Mulek first made landfall in the land Desolation, but did not remain there long. The Mulek colony eventually ended up in a wilderness area within the land southward. On the west seacoast, the Bountiful/Desolation boundary was an east-west line terminating at the west sea. This Bountiful/Desolation line was a strategic defensive littoral. Nephites populated this area to prevent Lamanites coming up from the land southward from invading the land northward. The Nephites valued the land northward as a potential safety valve in the event their land southward territory were overrun. A plausible Bountiful/Desolation border is very close to our proposed narrow (small) neck of land. Criterion 3 satisfied.

Modern Travel Routes

The Barra San Marcos, our proposed southward leg of the narrow (small) neck of land, is indeed a travel corridor today as it was anciently. Criterion 8 satisfied.

Proposed Narrow (Small) Neck of Land

If our candidate for the Bountiful/Desolation line is near the right place, our proposed narrow (small) neck of land is clearly between the land northward and the land southward Alma 22:32. Coming northward from the land southward, our proposed narrow (small) neck of land clearly leads one into the land northward Alma 63:5. Criterion 10 satisfied.

Closeup of Proposed Hagoth's Port

On the southward (land Bountiful) side of our proposed Bountiful/Desolation line, near our proposed narrow (small) neck of land, harbors do exist where ocean-going vessels could have been built, launched and berthed in Nephite times. Criterion 11 satisfied.

Olmec Site of Tzutzuculi near Tonala, Chiapas

Tzutzuculi was excavated by Andrew J. McDonald under the auspices of the BYUNew World Archaeological Foundation. The archaeological field report is Andrew J. McDonald, Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation, Number 47, Provo: Brigham Young University, 1983. This 35 hectare site dates to the middle preclassic, about 1,000 B.C. It is best known for its Olmec sculpture. Rebeca B. Gonzalez Lauck, INAH's principal investigator at the site of La Venta for many years, says Tzutzuculi was contemporaneous with La Venta, a planned regional center with impressive public architecture. Rebeca B. Gonzalez Lauck, "La Zona del Golfo en el Preclasico: la etapa olmeca; Lo Olmeco mas alla de la costa del Golfo" in Historia Antigua de Mexico, Vol. 1, Mexico City: INAH and UNAM, 2001. Tzutzuculi is just across the Zanatenco River (in yellow) from Tonala, 12 kilometers from salt water, 15 kilometers from Barra San Marcos, our proposed narrow (small) neck of land, and 6.5 kilometers north of our Bountiful/Desolation line (in red). Ether 10:20 calls Lib's city a "great city." See the blog article "Great Cities" for background on this term. Compare Tzutzuculi at 35 hectares with Jerusalem ca. 598 B.C. at 50 hectares and the site of Santa Rosa, Chiapas at 54 hectares (documentation in the blog article "Site Sizes.") Many informed people (John L. Sorenson chief among them) consider Santa Rosa a viable candidate for the city of Zarahemla.

Proposed Place Where the Sea Divides the Land

We are looking for a topographic pattern terra firma || salt water || terra firma in close proximity. In all Mesoamerica we are unlikely to find a place more apt to Moroni's description than this. Criterion 13 satisfied.

14. Southward from our Bountiful/Desolation line, the Mexican state of Chiapas is rich in biodiversity. This  is how the government of Chiapas divides their state into administrative regions.

Administrative Regions in the State of Chiapas

We will focus on the Itsmo-Costa, Frailesca, Soconusco and Sierra regions as most likely to have been exploited by the Jaredites for wild game. These regions are in 3 of the major physio graphic areas in Chiapas - the Pacific Coastal Plain, Sierra Madre and Central Depression. According to authoritative local sources, 30 mammalian species are hunted for  meat or hides in this part of Chiapas. The most important species for subsistence hunting include:

Width of Proposed Narrow (Small) Neck of Land

Placing a ruler on Barra San Marcos at Cabeza de Toro, we find a width of 1.93 kilometers. Voilà. We are right in the sweet spot. Criterion 15 satisfied.

The last post entitled The Narrow (Small) Neck of Land showed why many Book of Mormon students think a) the narrow (small) neck of land, b) Lib's city, c) the east-west Bountiful/Desolation line, d) Hagoth's port and e) the place where the sea divides the land are all clustered near each other along f) the Nephite west coast. We showed plausible correlates on the modern map for all 6 of these geographic referents and demonstrated with satellite imagery how our candidates are a good fit to the text. That is a lot going on in a relatively compact area (the Municipio of Tonala, Chiapas) but there is more. In this post we analyze in-depth the narrow pass mentioned in Alma 50:34, Alma 52:9 and Mormon 3:5-8 as well as the narrow passage referenced in Mormon 2:29. We also look at the fortified defensive line described in Helaman 4:6-8.

A natural question: Do all 3 references to the "narrow pass" refer to the same topographic feature? Yes. Common textual motifs such as borders of the lands Bountiful & Desolation, movement into the lands northward and southward, fortifications, military activity and proximity to the sea assure us that we are dealing with the same place on the Nephite map.

A second question: Are the "narrow pass" and the "narrow passage" the same thing? Probably not. The text in Mormon 2:29 lacks most of the motifs mentioned above, so we will assume the narrow pass and narrow passage are two different topographic features.

A third question: Is the narrow pass near the narrow neck of land? Yes. In point #18 of the article "Narrow and Small Things" we identified three textual motifs common to the passages (Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5 and Ether 10:20) describing the narrow (small) neck of land: a) the narrow or small neck of land was located near the land southward/land northward border which was also the land Bountiful/Desolation border, b) the narrow (small) neck of land was on the seacoast, with 2 of the 3 relevant texts identifying the sea as the west sea, and c) the narrow (small) neck was a travel corridor for people going northward or southward. We find all 3 textual motifs in the passages (Alma 50:34, Alma 52:9, and Mormon 3:5-8) describing the narrow pass: a) the land southward/land northward border which was also the land Bountiful/Desolation border appears prominently in these passages, b) the narrow pass was near the seacoast, with 1 of the relevant texts specifically mentioning the west sea, and c) the narrow pass was in a travel corridor for people going northward or southward. There is also a fourth textual motif that further links the narrow neck and narrow pass together geographically: Alma 22:33 describes Nephite guards and armies who prevented the Lamanites from moving through the narrow neck of land area into the land northward. Denying Lamanite access to the land northward at this particular point was a strategic Nephite military objective. We find the same thing in Alma 50:34-35. Teancum militarily engaged Morianton to prevent the Nephite dissenters from moving into the land northward. In Alma 52:9 Captain Moroni ordered Teancum to militarily fortify and secure the narrow pass area to prevent Lamanite incursions into the land northward. Over 400 years later Mormon did the same thing. Mormon 3:5-6 talks about armies and fortifications attempting to prevent the Lamanites from breaching a Nephite defensive line established by the narrow pass. The conclusion is unmistakable. All 6 texts are describing the same locale using similar words and concepts. The narrow neck of land and the narrow pass are very near each other.

This means the 15 textual criteria we established for the narrow (small) neck of land (see the blog article "The Narrow (Small) Neck of Land") are directly relevant to the narrow pass as well.           

Careful exegesis allows us to identify sixteen additional criteria the narrow pass must satisfy, enumerated as 1 - 16 with aqua shading.

Morianton and his people were moving northward but had not yet reached the land northward Alma 50:33 when they encountered Teancum and his army. Teancum was moving southward, coming to the battle from the Desolation (northward) side of the Bountiful/Desolation line Alma 50:34. Both groups were in a hurry and would have traveled via efficient routes. Teancum had the advantage that he could travel through Nephite controlled areas while Morianton, with the Nephite equivalent of an all points bulletin and a warrant out for his arrest, would have avoided places with a strong Nephite presence. Where did Teancum come from? Alma 50:35 tells us that Teancum had been with Captain Moroni in the fortified city of Moroni. So, Teancum traveled from the extreme south eastern corner of Nephite lands to the west coast and arrived at the east-west Bountiful/Desolation border ahead of Morianton. We should find 2 logical travel routes 1 into the narrow pass. One route should come from the northward (Desolation) side of the Bountiful/Desolation line and the other should come from the southward (Bountiful) side.

Coming up from the southward, the narrow pass led a) by the sea 2 and b) into the land northward 3Alma 50:34. The next textual phrase has perplexed many Book of Mormon students: "yea, by the sea on the west and on the east"Alma 50:34. Were there 2 seas here? No. Royal Skouson has taught us that "yea clauses" in the Book of Mormon expand on an immediately prior phrase. There was only one sea, the one the narrow pass was adjacent to. But, at this place in Nephite geography, the one sea whose primary direction was west also had an eastern extension. We will find a salt water || dry land || salt water topographic pattern 4 by the narrow pass. It sounds like a coastal sandbar fronting a salt water lagoon.

Teancum and his troops fought a battle, killed Morianton and repatriated the Nephite dissenters who followed him by the narrow pass in the 24th year of the reign of the judges, ca. 68 B.C. There must be land immediately adjacent to the narrow pass large enough for two armies 5 to engage in battle. We are not told the size of the armies. No adjectives such as "small" or "large" modify the singular noun "army." Based on our analysis of the term "small" in the article "Narrow and Small Things" we estimate an army to have been at minimum 3,000 troops. Our analysis of troop strengths elsewhere in the text (see the article "Population Sizes and Casualty Counts") reinforces this number as reasonable for the size of a militia from a newly-planted land (Morianton) on the Nephite settlement frontier ca. 68 B.C.

Two years after defeating Morianton by the narrow pass, Teancum received orders from his commanding officer, Captain Moroni, to militarily fortify the land Bountiful and secure the narrow pass Alma 52:9 with a portion of his troops. The remainder of Teancum's forces and Teancum himself remained in the general vicinity of the city Bountiful on the extreme northern edge of the Nephite east coast. The term "fortify" is not a great deal of help. 6 years earlier, Captain Moroni had his troops busily digging up "heaps" and "ridges" of earth around every city throughout "all the land" under Nephite control Alma 50:1. Securing the narrow pass, though, gives us a quantifiable textual requirement to consider. The narrow pass had to be small enough that an army probably not exceeding 5,000 men 6 could prevent movement along it. The narrow pass was clearly a natural choke point in the terrain 7 because Lamanite control of this strategic west coast area would bottle up the Nephites and deny them access to their land northward escape route Alma 52:9. It is important to note that at the precise time Teancum received these orders, the Lamanites already controlled most of the Nephite east coast from Moroni on the south to Mulek on the north.

Over 400 years later, ca. A.D. 360, Mormon was the supreme commander of Nephite military forces. He gathered much of the Nephite nation together in the area around the city Desolation 8 just north of the east-west Bountiful/Desolation line Mormon 3:5 by the narrow pass. This means the area northward of the narrow pass opens up into an expanse wide enough 9 to accommodate at minimum several hundred thousand people. This also means the area just north of the narrow pass had a high carrying capacity 10. In other words, enough food could be produced in this area to feed the large Nephite population gathered there.

We saw in Alma 50:34 and Alma 52:9 that when coming from the southward, the narrow pass led into the land northward. From Mormon's perspective already in the land northward, the narrow pass led into the land southward Mormon 3:5. This means a portion of the narrow pass was northward of the east-west Bountiful/Desolation line and another portion was southward 11.

Mormon caused the Nephites to fortify their lands around the city Desolation against Lamanite invasion "with all our force"Mormon 3:6. Mormon knew this was the Nephite's last real chance to hold sizable contiguous territory for a substantial period of time. The fortifications he directed were extraordinary 12. Captain Moroni, one of Mormon's heroes (see Alma 48:17), directed extensive fortification efforts using earth and stone Alma 48:8 throughout the entire Nephite nation which ranged from the sea east to the sea west. Mormon's fortifications were more intensive in a limited area. Early in his career, Mormon had directed the fortifications around Angola that ultimately proved ineffective Mormon 2:4. Late in his career, Mormon's military engineering was so effective that not only did the Nephites win two decisive battles around the city of Desolation Mormon 3:7-8, they could have remained in and around their fortified city indefinitely Mormon 4:4 had they not arrogantly gone on the offensive and mounted a disastrous invasion of Lamanite lands which decimated their ranks.

The Lamanites came down to the city of Desolation to battle their ancient foes Mormon 3:7. This means the city of Desolation was lower in elevation 13 than the Lamanite homelands. The city of Desolation was on the seacoast 14 because after a battle large numbers of Lamanite dead were cast into the sea Mormon 3:8.

The narrow pass crossed the Bountiful/Desolation border which was also the land southward/land northward border. "Bountiful" was a political entity in Nephite times, but the name also had ecological connotations. See the article "Bountiful Context" in this blog. We should find observable differences 15 between the lands Bountiful and Desolation that justify the ecological implications of the term "Bountiful."

The narrow pass must be narrow 16. Anything over 5 kilometers wide would be inconsistent with Nephite usage of the term "narrow" as we found in the article "Narrow and Small Things."

Our candidate for the narrow pass is the route the Isthmian Railroad follows today as it winds around the southern flank of Cerro Bernal and the northern shore of Laguna de la Joya. This map shows our narrow  pass in green in its Mesoamerican context. The Mezcalapa-Grijalva River in blue is shown as it flowed in early Nephite times (See the blog article "Wandering River").

Proposed Narrow Pass in Green on the Pacific Coast of Chiapas

This map shows a closeup of the narrow coastal plain between the mountains and the sea. The magenta line represents the modern railroad, with the section we are designating the narrow pass in green.

Isthmian Railroad in Magenta, Proposed Narrow Pass in Green

And this map shows the narrow pass in context with the other six geographic features (narrow (small) neck of land, Bountiful/Desolation line, city of Lib, Hagoth's port, place where the sea divides the land, and sea west) we discussed in the prior article "The Narrow (Small) Neck of Land." The white line is the continental divide running along the ridge line of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The blue line is a tributary of the Mezcalapa-Grijalva river, and the yellow lines are small rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean. As before, the magenta line shows the route of the Trans Isthmian Railroad with the section we call the narrow pass shown in green.

Proposed Narrow Pass, Narrow Neck and Nearby Features

Let's see how our proposed narrow pass fits the sixteen textual requirements outlined above.

Northward Pass Through the Sierra Madre Mountains into Arriaga

The southward route into Tonala goes from Motozintla over a natural pass in the Sierra Madre Mountains (highlighted as a green circle) into Huixtla, and from there along the coastal route northward into Mapastepec and beyond.

Southward Pass Through the Sierra Madrea Mountains into Huixtla

This map shows the Narrow Pass area with the two major routes over the Sierra Madre Mountains highlighted as green circles.

Northward and Southward Routes into the Tonala Area

We do find 2 logical travel routes into our proposed narrow pass, one coming in from the northward (Desolation) side and the other from the southward (Bountiful) side. Criterion 1 satisfied.

Proposed Narrow Pass Area in Shaded Relief

Cerro Bernal is a spur of the Sierra Madre nearly 1,000 meters in elevation. It is the place along the entire Chiapas coast where the mountains come closest to the sea. This creates a natural choke point in the topography where movement northward or southward is channeled in three narrow travel corridors. The Trans Isthmian Railroad, a portion of which we have designated the narrow pass, follows the middle of these corridors. Criterion 7 satisfied.

8, 9. The following map shows our concept of the land Bountiful in green overlay and the land Desolation in brown overlay with the east west Bountiful/Desolation line in red between them.

Proposed City of Desolation Area North of the East West Bountiful/Desolation Line

Two things are readily apparent on the map above. 1) A poorly studied ancient site known to archaeologists as Paredon lies on the coast of Mar Muerto just north of our Bountiful/Desolation line. Paredon could have been the city of Desolation. The surveyed ruins are engulfed by the modern city of Paredon which had a population of 6,126 in the 2010 Mexican Census. So, we find a candidate for the city of Desolation in the precise place where our model predicted it should be. 2) The coastal plain which is less than 1 kilometer wide along most of our narrow pass broadens out to 12 kilometers between the cities of Paredon and Tonala as the yellow ruler on the map above indicates. Assuming that the greater city of Desolation area where Mormon concentrated the Nephites ran from our east west Bountiful/Desolation line to the Tiltepec River and was bounded on the west by the Mar Muerto and on the east by our proposed border of the land Desolation, the area would have looked like the yellow-shaded polygon on the map below.

Proposed Greater City of Desolation in Yellow

The area in yellow is 278 square kilometers. As a point of comparison, Washington D.C. has a surface area of 177 square kilometers. Is this Tonala, Chiapas area large enough to have been the Nephite capital from ca. A.D. 360 to ca. A.D. 363? Yes. 278 square kilometers should have been adequate space for the events being described in Mormon chapters 3 & 4. Criteria 8 & 9 satisfied.

Municipio of Tonala, Chiapas, Mexico

Among the 122 municipios in the state of Chiapas, Tonala is the leading producer of fish and shrimp. The large Mar Muerto is one of the most productive fisheries in all of Mexico, and the city of Paredon is the leading fishing port on the Mar Muerto coast. Tonala also exports large quantities of beef. It is the third most important cattle ranching area in Chiapas. Other important agricultural exports include corn and mangoes. See production statistics published by SAGARPA, Secretaria de Agricultura, Ganaderia, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentacion. As a large net exporter of foodstuffs, the Tonala area has a high carrying capacity. Criterion 10 satisfied.

Granite Outcroppings in the Tonala, Chiapas Area

The red oval on the map above highlights the location of the kind of granite used anciently as building material. The stone came from the Cerro Bernal and a small area immediately north of the modern city of Tonala. This particular type of architectural grade granite is quite rare in Mexico, but abundant in the precise location we have identified as the narrow neck of land - narrow pass area.

4 Ancient Megalithic Granite Architecture Sites

And this map shows 13 of the 20+ archaeological sites currently known to science in the Municipio of Tonala, Chiapas.

13 Known Archaeological Sites in and around Tonala

So, unique in all Mesoamerica, we do find extraordinary defensive fortifications made of granite sitting atop natural hills in the precise area where we have sited the narrow neck of land and the narrow pass. Criterion 12 satisfied.

Megalithic Architecture in Mesoamerica

The Maya sites all used some form of limestone which averages a hardness of 3 on the mohs scale. The granite used in the Tonala sites was orders of magnitude more difficult to work, but also much more effective as a defensive building material.

The Ancient Site of Paredon by the Sea

Criterion 14 satisfied.

Bountiful/Desolation Line near the  Chiapas/Oaxaca Border

Part of the meaning of "Desolation" in Nephite parlance was cultural, derived from the presence of Jaredite ruins in the land Alma 22:30. This is a map of known Olmec and Olmec-influenced sites northward from our Bountiful/Desolation line in red.

Bountiful/Desolation Line Relative to the Olmec Heartland

The orange line surrounds Olmec heartland sites in southern Veracruz and western Tabasco. The magenta line represents the Trans Isthmian Railroad that follows the ancient communication route between the Chiapas coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The yellow line is our representation of the route Mulek and his colony took landing first in the Papaloapan River Basin, coasting by the Coatzacoalcos and Mezcalapa-Grijalva River Basins and finally settling in the Usumacinta River Basin. Northward from our Bountiful/Desolation line in red, the ancient route to the Veracruz coast passed by the Olmec sites Tzutzuculi, Tiltepec, Laguna Zope, and Tepalcate before crossing the center of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and entering the Olmec heartland via the site of Las Limas. This direct connection between the Tzutzuculi/Tiltepec area and the Olmec heartland supports our use of the term "Desolation" near Tonala.

Another part of the meaning of "Desolation" in Nephite usage was ecological. Desolation had far fewer trees than Bountiful Helaman 3:6-7, Helaman 3:9. This map based on satellite imagery from NASA shows land cover with denser vegetation darker shades of green.

NASA Land Cover Classification

The red line is our east west Bountiful/Desolation line referenced in Alma 22:32. The yellow line is our proposed boundary between the entire lands of Bountiful and Desolation. It is clear that vegetation is much denser on the Bountiful side of the border.

NASA Forest Canopy Heights

It is obvious that there are more trees and taller trees on the Bountiful side of the border.

NASA Blue Marble Image - Dry Season

Clearly, the earth is much greener on the Bountiful side of the border.

Areas of Dense Vegetation per INEGI

Desolation has fewer areas of dense vegetation than Bountiful.

Areas Receiving more than 1,500 Millimeters of Average Annual Precipitation per INEGI

In the southern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, our Bountiful/Desolation border is a pretty stark line. All points immediately on the Bountiful side of the boundary receive at least 1,500 millimeters of precipitation annually. Almost all points immediately on the Desolation side of the border are drier.

Streams Emptying into the Pacific

As you move northward across the east west Bountiful/Desolation line and travel across our land Desolation,  the streams become fewer and further between.

Proposed Narrow Pass around Cerro Bernal

At the point indicated by the yellow ruler in the image above, the coastal plain flanking Cerro Bernal is .29 kilometers wide. This is narrow enough to fit the definition we have established based on Nephite usage of the term. Criterion 16 satisfied.

Our candidate for the narrow pass, the route of the Trans Isthmian Railroad around Cerro Bernal and Laguna de la Joya, is a decidedly good fit to the text. It comfortably meets all 16 criteria we developed through careful reading.

A single verse, Mormon 2:29, refers to a geographic feature called the narrow  passage which led into the land southward. The context was ca. A.D. 350 when the Nephites negotiated a treaty with the Lamanites and Gadianton Robbers. The Nephites got the entire land northward, their enemies the entire land southward. There are 3 reasons we believe the narrow passage was in the same locality as the narrow (small) neck of land and the narrow pass:

• The language Mormon used to describe the narrow passage (which led into the land southward) is identical to his description of both the narrow (small) neck of land (which led into the land northward) Alma 63:5 and the narrow pass (which led into the land southward) Mormon 3:5.
• The narrow passage was clearly at the border between the lands northward and southward. All other references in the text to this border can be shown in context to refer to the area near the narrow (small) neck of land and the narrow pass.
• Events in the text after A.D. 350 (Mormon 3:5) show that the Nephites were in the area near the narrow (small) neck of land and the narrow pass.

This means there were 3 different land routes to move between the lands northward and southward:

• via the narrow (small) neck of land
• via the narrow pass
• via the narrow passage

Our candidate for the narrow passage is the route followed by Mexican Federal Highway 200 as it passes between Cerro Bernal and the Sierra Madre Mountains. This  map shows our proposal as an aqua colored line.

Proposed Narrow Passage in Aqua

This map shows the 3 different land routes to move between the lands northward and southward. The narrow (small) neck of land route is shown in purple, the narrow pass route in green, and the narrow passage route in aqua.

3 Routes Across the Bountiful/Desolation Line

The known archaeological sites in the Municipio of Tonala, Chiapas correlate remarkably well with the 3 land routes we have identified. Cabeza de Toro and Las Animas are on Barra San Marcos which we correlate with the narrow (small) neck of land. Estacion Mojarras guards our narrow pass. And, Ocuilapa, La Polca and Los Horcones all straddle our proposed narrow passage. Fraccion Mujular and Ciudad Perdida overlook our narrow passage from the heights of Cerro Bernal, while Perseverancia is just down the road following the same trajectory. So, the locations of the ancient sites in the area support our 3 proposed travel routes through the constricted Cerro Bernal area.

Ancient Sites Correlated with our 3 Routes across the Bountiful/Desolation Line

The Book of Mormon makes a single reference to the narrow strip of wilderness Alma 22:27 but this natural feature on the Nephite/Lamanite landscape looms large in any attempt to correlate the text with the modern map. Actually, there are other references to the narrow strip of wilderness, but under different names. For example:

• Alma 22:29 calls it the wilderness at the head of the river Sidon
• Alma 27:14 calls it the wilderness which divided the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla
• Alma 50:11 calls it the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, as well as (the line) between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi
• Alma 50:13 calls it the line of the possessions of the Lamanites

Detailed exegesis of these texts yields 32 criteria that will help us identify the narrow strip of wilderness on modern maps. These requirements are enumerated 1 - 32 below in aqua.

North American Caribbean Tectonic Plate Boundary Shown in NASA Blue Marble Imagery (October)

Another image shows our narrow strip of wilderness, marked with a small red arrow, on a shaded relief map. Notice how clearly the circularity shows up as the North American Caribbean Tectonic Plate Boundary goes through a major mountain pass in the Sierra Madre and then down to the Pacific coast. This is the area between Motozintla and Huixtla, Chiapas where Mexican Federal Highway 211 runs today.

North American Caribbean Tectonic Plate Boundary Shown on Shaded Relief Map

And, a final image shows the northern edge of our narrow strip of wilderness in white with a map of major rivers. The Usumacinta network is in red. The Mezcalapa-Grijalva system is in blue. All other drainage basins are in yellow.

Proposed Narrow Strip of Wilderness with Major River Systems

Clicking to enlarge this image, you will notice a nearly unbroken string of rivers (Lake Izabal is part of the Polochic drainage system) immediately south of the white line. These rivers flow at the base of the long line of cliffs we correlate with the narrow strip of wilderness.

Focus on Our Correlation of Eastern Nephite Lands ca. 90 B.C.

First, the narrow strip of wilderness passed south of wilderness inhabited by idle Lamanites. The white lines enclose territory we believe was settled by Nephites ca. 90 B.C. The black line encloses territory (the Mirador Basin) we don't think was ever part of the Nephite nation. The green polygon represents our view of the large east wilderness prior to the establishment of the lands of Sidom, Noah or Jershon (or the city of Aaron). Those were the first places settled by the Nephites east of the central Sidon corridor.

Chixoy River System Flowing East, then West, and Finally North

Zooming out still further to a continental scale, we see that our proposed head of Sidon is on the extreme southern edge of our greater land of Zarahemla, represented in white overlay on the map below.

Proposed Greater Land of Zarahemla in White North of the Head of Sidon

Putting a ruler on the map, we compute the straight line distance from our head of Sidon to both coasts.

Air Distance from the Pacific to the Head of the Chixoy

The results: Pacific Ocean to the head of the Chixoy = 231 kilometers. Caribbean Ocean to the  head of the Chixoy = 196 kilometers. Our candidate for the head of Sidon is a considerable distance inland from both coasts. Criteria 16, 17 & 18 satisfied.

Proposed Zerahemnah Route with Shaded Relief

There is a logical route Zerahemnah could have traveled from our proposed land of Antionum to the head of Sidon. This route does go "round about in the wilderness away by the head of the river Sidon"Alma 43:22 as the text requires. Criterion 19 satisfied.

20. We correlate the city of Manti with the site of Chama, a large trading center at the confluence of the Chixoy with the Sachichaj. See the blog article "Manti." On the map below, the white line represents Zerahemnah's likely line of march around Hill Riplah and down to a crossing of the Chixoy. The concentric circle symbols represent battle grounds. Z12 represents Captain Lehi's victory over Zerahemnah east of Sidon. Z13 represents Captain Moroni's final victory over Zerahemnah west of Sidon. (See the article "Sidon East then West" for a list of 35 battles fought in the greater land of Zarahemla enumerated Z1 - Z35). By crossing Sidon from east to west, Zerahemnah hoped to take the city of Manti by surprise.

Likely Zerahemnah Battles East and West of Sidon South of Manti

As the map above makes clear, the level ground around our city of Manti is east of Sidon. By crossing over to the thinly populated mountainous terrain west of the river, Zerahemnah's forces could approach the city undetected. The Lamanites never executed their plan. For an extended treatment of Captain Moroni's brilliant battle tactic that led to the decisive defeat of a much larger enemy force, see the articles "Manti" and "Captain Moroni in Space and Time." The point is that had Zerahemnah been able to cross the river with his troops and invade Manti from the west (crossing the river a second time from west to east), he could have surprised Manti with little advance warning. Criterion 20 satisfied.

Note: How did the ancients cross a large river such as the Chixoy with an army? They lashed a long string of canoes together several abreast and lashed planks on top, creating a crude pontoon bridge. When Hernan Cortes traveled across northern Tabasco and through the Peten in 1524 on his way to quell a rebellion in Honduras, he and the other Europeans were amazed at the natives' skill building these portable pontoon bridges that were so sturdy they allowed even Spanish horses and cannon to easily cross wide rivers.

2122. Zerahemnah came from the Antionum Jershon border far to the north east of the head of Sidon. He passed by (about 11 air kilometers away in our correlation) the head of Sidon without ever crossing over it, then crossed Sidon from east to west further downstream. This map shows his likely route in white.

Probable Route of Zerahemnah Passing by the  Head of Sidon

The lay of the land in this area allows travel precisely as the text in Alma 43:22 and Alma 43:40 describe.

Probable Route Antiparah to Nephihah Crossing the Head of Sidon

"Cross the head of Sidon" probably meant cross over the Salama and possibly the Carchela at their  confluence with the Chixoy-Negro. The lay of the land in this area supports travel precisely as the text in Alma 56:25 describes. Criterion 23 satisfied.

24. Some students of the Book of Mormon interpret Alma 22:27 to mean the river Sidon itself rather than the narrow strip of wilderness ran east to west in the immediate vicinity of the head of Sidon. Downstream from the Salama confluence, the Chixoy does flow westward for about 25 kilometers before turning generally northward. The region within the green circle on the map below highlights this westward flowing section of the river.

Chixoy Flowing Westward Downstream from the Salama Confluence

Our candidate for the river Sidon (Chixoy - Salinas - Usumacinta) does flow westward just downstream from our head of Sidon. Criterion 24 satisfied.

The Confluence of 4 Streams that Form the Chixoy

This meeting of the waters precisely fits one of the standard English definitions of a "head" of a river. Geographers pinpoint this very place (the confluence of the Chixoy-Negro with the Salama) as the head of the Chixoy. Criterion 25 satisfied.

Typical Ancient Route From Kaminaljuyu (Proposed Nephi) to Chama (Proposed Manti) via Salama and Coban

Notice how similar the ancient trail shown above was to the modern highway route between Guatemala City and Coban.

Google Maps Route Guatemala City (A) to Coban (B) via Salama

Alma 27:14 tells us the people of Ammon waited in the narrow strip of wilderness while Ammon and his brethren consulted with their fellow Nephites about a homeland for the Lamanite converts. How large a group were the people of Ammon? The text does not specify, but we have some demographic indicators that will help us derive an informed estimate.

Proposed Narrow Strip of Wilderness near Head of Sidon

Our narrow strip of wilderness is in green. Our Sidon (the Chixoy) is in red. The river shown in yellow is the Cahabon. The white line represents the ancient travel route between Salama and Coban. The modern town of Coban is clearly visible near the top of the image. The surface area of our narrow strip of wilderness between the Chixoy and the Cahabon is close to 80 square kilometers. 40,000 people camping in this area would result in a temporary population density of 500 per square kilometer, about the same as the Netherlands or South Korea, considerably less than Taiwan and about half that of Bangladesh. The current population density of Guatemala is 142 per square kilometer. As a point of comparison, the population of the city of Coban in 2005 was just over 86,000. So, our proposed narrow strip of wilderness was large enough to temporarily accommodate the estimated population of the people of Ammon. Criterion 26 satisfied.

272829. The North American Caribbean tectonic plate boundary is a long string of cliffs represented by a green ribbon on the map below. The actual cliff faces are wider in some areas than in others, but on average the area is 3.3 kilometers wide.

North American Caribbean Tectonic Plate Boundary in Green

This is a closeup of the area around Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

North American Caribbean Tectonic Plate Boundary near Huehuetenango

The ruler on the map above shows the green band is 4.27 kilometers wide at the point indicated.

Narrow Strip of Wilderness Along the Polochic

Next, we turn on a shaded relief layer in Google Earth to highlight relative elevation. This makes the cliffs stand out in stark contract to more level terrain.

Line of Cliffs Along the Polochic

Placing a transect through the town of Tamahu, we let Google Earth calculate an elevation profile which shows the Polochic valley running through cliffs on either side. In 4.82 air miles of lateral run, the transect goes from 1,938 meters elevation down to the river at 1,028 meters and back up to 1,914 meters on the other side. The steepest cliffs are on the north side of the river.

Elevation Profile of the Polochic Valley at Tamahu

Here is another perspective of the Tamahu area using the terrain layer in Google Maps as our visualization tool.

Terrain around Tamahu, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

There are only a limited number of natural passes through this long line of cliffs. This topography gave the Nephites a strategic defensive advantage by reducing the number of points along the line they needed to fortify. Criterion 30 satisfied.

31. Archaeologists divide the Maya area into 3 distinct regions:

• The northern lowland Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula
• The southern lowland Maya from the Gulf Coast of Tabasco through the Peten to the Caribbean
• The highland Maya in highland Guatemala and the central depression of Chiapas

This is a map of the generally accepted boundaries between these 3 cultural regions.

Maya Area in White with Highland Lowland Boundaries

Superimposing our correlation of the narrow strip of wilderness and head of Sidon on the map of Maya cultural regions, the correspondences are obvious.

Proposed Narrow Strip of Wilderness and Head of Sidon Overlaid on Map of Maya Cultural Regions

Not only is the North American Caribbean tectonic plate boundary a significant part of the north south division between the southern lowland Maya and the highland Maya, but the head of the Chixoy is also a key point in the east west border between these ancient groups. The archaeological literature does contain corroboration for an ancient littoral function associated with our narrow strip of wilderness and head of Sidon. Criterion 31 satisfied.

NASA's Earth Lights at Night Image with Red Arrow Indicating Faint Line of Light Extending East West Coast to Coast

In another view of Earth Lights at Night, we place the red line marking the northern edge of our narrow strip of  wilderness on the image and mark major population centers along its route. Coban is 15 kilometers north of the red line. Huehuetenango is 8 kilometers south of it. Immediately south of the red line NASA satellite imagery shows little human habitation which is not surprising since humans tend not to settle on steep mountain slopes. Once the line gets out of the Sierra Madre and into the Chiapas coastal plain, population increases significantly as seen in the area around Huixtla, Chiapas.

Northern Edge of Proposed Narrow Strip of Wilderness Overlaid on Earth Lights at Night

We can get a rough idea of ancient population densities by analyzing the incidence of archaeological sites known to science in a given territory. This is a very interesting map. It shows most of the 6,000+ sites in the Electronic Atlas of Ancient Maya Sites (EAAMS) dataset shown as black pyramids, major Mesoamerican river systems (plotted to date - this is slow, tedious work) in red (Usumacinta), blue (Mezcalapa-Grijalva) and yellow (all others), our correlates for 21 Book of Mormon cities, and the North American Caribbean tectonic plate boundary, our candidate for the narrow strip of wilderness.

EAAMS Data, Rivers, Proposed Book of Mormon Cities and the Likely Narrow Strip of Wilderness

Zooming in on our proposed narrow strip of wilderness, we find 12 ancient sites actually within the boundaries of the territory we have designated. Most of those sites are located in natural passes, not on steep mountain slopes. The total surface area of the polygon we call the narrow strip of wilderness is 1,469 square kilometers. Dividing 12 by 1,469 we get an average site density of .0081 sites per square kilometer.

EAAMS Data, Rivers and the Likely Narrow Strip of Wilderness

The average site density of the entire Maya area is .017 sites per square kilometer, more than double that of our narrow strip of wilderness. Our proposed narrow strip was lightly settled in antiquity, and those settlements were largely confined to natural passes through the line of steep mountain cliffs.

Nephi set a high standard for clarity and precision in his oral communication "I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err"2 Nephi 25:20. He wanted his words to communicate effectively "my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people that they may learn"2 Nephi 25:4. "I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus"2 Nephi 33:6. Nephi taught that deity values this same standard of lucidity "[The Lord] doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men"2 Nephi 26:33. Father Lehi, quoting Joseph son of Jacob (Israel), said the words of the Book of Mormon itself would be "simpleness"2 Nephi 3:20. Following this tradition of unambiguity in Nephite culture, King Benjamin spoke "plainly unto you that ye might understand" Mosiah 2:40. Alma reprised Nephi when he taught that the Nephites had received divine communication "in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err"Alma 13:23.

Nephi said it best "For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding"2 Nephi 31:3.

If this kind of clear and understandable prose works for unshaken faith 2 Nephi 31:19, repenting of our sins 2 Nephi 31:13, baptism by water 2 Nephi 31:17, receiving the Holy Ghost 2 Nephi 31:18, and enduring to the end 2 Nephi 31:20 it also works for the sea east Helaman 11:20, the narrow (small) neck of land Alma 22:32 and the narrow strip of wilderness Alma 22:27.

Motive
The Book of Mormon has wonderfully enriched our lives. We pray the Nephite scripture becomes a much more significant force for good worldwide. We consider the degree of market penetration it has achieved since 1830 (the Book of Mormon is an integral part of the daily thought processes of a few million people) modest. We believe a verifiable ancient setting will help many more people take this inspired masterpiece seriously.

Modus Operandi
We use the 2009 Yale University Press edition of the Book of Mormon to take advantage of Royal Skousen's decades of painstaking work piecing together the text that fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph as he had the Nephite plates open in front of him. We link to the lds.org 2013 edition of the text whenever possible as a convenience to readers and to keep ourselves honest. If we cite a scriptural passage, we go to some effort to ensure the text at that point really says what we claim it says. We take the text at face value assuming the words that fell from the Prophet's lips meant the same thing they would have in Elizabethan (King James) English.

• We assume consistency in the text. If we find a pattern where a phrase carried a discernible meaning in Nephite usage, we assume compatible if not similar exegesis for all occurrences of that phrase. See Royal Skousen, "The Systematic Text of the Book of Mormon" in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume 11, Issue 2, Provo: Maxwell Institute, 2002.
• For example, we consider "a day's journey for a Nephite"Helaman 4:7 to be a standard unit of measure in Nephite culture, not the result of some extraordinary feat of heroism. When we find the distance measure "a day and a half's journey for a Nephite"Alma 22:32 in the text we multiply our derivation of the standard unit (15 air kilometers - see the article "Land Southward Travel Times") by 1.5.
• We expect textual meanings to fall within reasonable ranges given generally accepted English usage. If Mormon described a geographic feature as "narrow"Alma 63:5 we look for a place whose width does not exceed 5 kilometers (see the article "Narrow and Small Things"). A place 100 kilometers wide would be orders of magnitude too large.
• We read for historical context. See the article "Captain Moroni in Space and Time" for an example of the insights this methodology is capable of.     

We use Google Earth as our repository of geographic information and periodically update our complete Book of Mormon model so students of the text worldwide can reproduce our results.

• If the text says a place was up or down relative to another place, we calculate vertical rise or fall. We have built two versions of a terrain plane that allow us to set an absolute altitude and quickly see what features rise above that elevation like volcanoes projecting through the clouds.
• We follow the rivers. Rivers were the highways of the ancient world. We have invested several thousand hours plotting major river systems in southern Mesoamerica, but much more remains to be done before our watershed map is reasonably complete. The Olmec typically sited settlements on streams. The Maya did the same. Ditto the Zoque. We assume the Nephites were no different.
• If the text says round about, we look for circularity in a path or movement.
• If the text cites a cardinal direction, we let Google Earth calculate a heading where 360 is due north, 90 is due east, 180 is due south, and 270 is due west.
• If the text uses some variant of the phrase "cross over" we look for an obstacle in the terrain (typically a mountain or river) separating two areas of roughly equivalent elevation.
• If the text says a city had a "wilderness side" we look for an obvious terrain feature prominent enough to show up in satellite imagery.  

We assume Mesoamerica. We find the correlation between the Book of Mormon text and Mesoamerica compelling, growing deeper and stronger over time.

I was in north central Tennessee years ago looking for a gravel pit operated by one of my customers. Slightly disoriented, I stopped by a farmhouse where an older couple sat on the front porch. I asked them to please direct me to the mining operation. The fellow pointed down the road and said it was in that direction "a fur piece." His wife protested. "No," she insisted, "it ain't a fur piece, it's a short piece." When I finally found the quarry, it was about five miles down the road from the friendly farmhouse. To this day, I am unsure whether five road miles is generally considered "a fur piece" or "a short piece" in the vernacular of the Tennessee hills.

The Book of Mormon uses the terms "near" and "far" to describe comparative spatial relationships. This article will attempt to quantify what the Nephites meant when they used these terms in a geographic context.
1. After Lehi left Jerusalem, he and his family traveled near the shore of the Red Sea 1 Nephi 2:5. The Old World portion of the Lehite's journey has been studied many times by capable researchers (Aston, Brown, England, Hilton, Phillips, Potter, Wellington). Virtually all agree that the first leg of the eight year odyssey took the family from Jerusalem down the Great Rift Valley to the Gulf of Aqaba. That route is shown in white on the map below.

Lehite's Journey in White from Jerusalem to the Red Sea

4 Transects Measuring the Width of the Gulf of Aqaba Coastal Plain as it Rises to 100 Meters Elevation

Testing the Directionality of Shazer From the Valley of Lemuel

Nephi was spot on as they say in Britain. Do we have any reason to mistrust the Book of Mormon when it says north, south, east or west? No. Google Earth confirms the accuracy of the Nephite text 100% of the time. See the article "Plainness" for perspective.

Proposed Shazer 10 Kilometers North of Duba, Saudi Arabia

This image shows the location of ibex habitat near Duba.

Nubian Ibex Habitat near Duba, Saudi Arabia

From their camp at Shazer, Nephi and his brothers would have traveled about 20 kilometers inland from the coast to reach herds of ibex. Continuing on their journey south southeast from Shazer, they stayed near the Red Sea and followed the directions on the Liahona to find the most fertile parts of the wilderness. They probably passed through some of the sites indicated on the map below. These are modern population centers, most of which were also ancient oases along the coastal caravan route. The base map is NASA's land cover classification system where urban areas show red.

Modern Cities and Ancient Oases Along Lehi's Coastal Route

Showing the same area with a shaded relief base map, the Red Sea coastal plain is obvious.

Lehi's Coastal Route Showing Red Sea Coastal Plain

In the case of 1 Nephi 16:14, near the Red Sea probably meant within 5 kilometers of the coast. Almost all population centers along this coastal plain are right on the water.

Proposed Plains of Nephihah

The distance from our candidate city of Nephihah (La Reforma) to the edge of the flat lands is 2.88 kilometers.

Distance from Flat Lands to the Site of La Reforma

A Nephite carved stela erected in honor of Captain Moroni might read something like this:

Captain Moroni ca. 100 B.C. - ca. 56 B.C. was military commander-in-chief of the Nephite Republic when the nation achieved its territorial maximum. Perhaps more importantly, he was chief captain during the Nephite cultural zenith Alma 50:23. He was a patriot Alma 48:11-13, war hero with battle wounds Alma 52:35, motivator Alma 46:21, Christian Alma 46:18 and family man Alma 46:12. He was an able recruiter Alma 50:12, brilliant battlefield tactician Alma 43:53 and effective executive Alma 46:28. He was also an innovator Alma 49:8 whose creations (body armor, fortified cities) forever changed the nature of Nephite warfare Alma 49:11. He attracted superior leaders Alma 53:2, but invariably reserved the toughest assignments for himself Alma 52:11. His reputation provoked fear among the Lamanites Alma 62:31, although he was magnanimous in victory Alma 62:28. He was preceded by Zoram₂ Alma 16:5 and succeeded by his son, Moronihah Alma 62:43. Appointed chief captain at the young age of 25 Alma 43:17, he led the nation's fighting forces for 15 years before retiring to his home in the city of Zarahemla Alma 62:42-43 where he enjoyed 4 peaceful years before his death at age 44.The pre-eminent Nephite historian, Mormon, considered Captain Moroni one of the greats Alma 48:17-18 and named his own son after him.

The article "Captain Moroni in Space and Time" details his illustrious military career.

In 1979 my wife and I lived in Somerville, Massachusetts where many of the locals had never ventured far from their home north of the Charles. One day we had a classic conversation with a neighbor.
"Where are you from?"
"Utah."
"Where's that?"
"By California."
"Oh, you're from the West are you? I have relatives in the West, in Chicago. Maybe you know them."
From a New England perspective in contemporary America, Utah is "by" California, but is it also "by" Illinois? We analyzed all occurrences of the term "near" in a geographic context in the Book of Mormon and concluded two points within about 5 air kilometers of each other would have been considered "near" in Nephite parlance. See the article "Things Near and Far." We will now attempt to quantify what the Nephites meant when they said a person, place or thing was "by" something else. This will take some time. In the pdf version of the raw 1981 LDS text available for download here, Adobe Reader finds 1,189 instances of the word "by." 109 of those instances have a geographic or at least spatial context. Netting out duplicates, we have 88 passages with discrete referents that were "by" one another.

Image A of Spreadsheet Analyzing All Occurrences of the Word "by" in a Spatial Context in the Text

Image B of Spreadsheet Analyzing All Occurrences of the Word "by" in a Spatial Context in the Text

Image C of Spreadsheet Analyzing All Occurrences of the Word "by" in a Spatial Context in the Text

An unexpected pattern shows up in this data. In all cases, where Nephite authors used the word that came to be translated "by" in a spatial context, there was a perimeter, an edge, a littoral or what the Book of Mormon calls "borders." The dividing line could be between land and sea Alma 50:9, land and river Alma 43:51, or land and some other body of water Alma 17:34. It could divide flatter lands from a hill Mormon 6:2 or settled territory from wilderness Alma 8:3. The entrance or gate that divided a city from its environs Alma 49:18 was a place the term was used, as was the line separating private property from public commons Helaman 7:10. Two different groups of people in a standoff could be "by" each other Helaman 1:31 and a large land area was "by" its own borders Helaman 1:26. Sometimes the boundary was rectilinear Alma 50:13 although often it was curvilinear Alma 22:29 or circular Alma 47:14. The interface could even be multi-dimensional as when the Jaredite barges were submerged under the surface of the ocean Ether 6:7. A common theme in these passages is movement Mormon 5:5 or a path facilitating movement Alma 58:26.

Given the 100% positive correlation between the notion of a margin and the use of the word "by" in a spatial or geographic context in the text, it should not surprise us that estimated relative distances are modest. The referents in 49 of the 88 instances analyzed (55%) were probably within 200 meters of each other. The referents in 59 of the 88 instances analyzed (57%) were probably within 500 meters of each other. The referents in 78 of the 88 instances analyzed (88%) were probably within 5 air kilometers of each other. We estimate the maximum distance between entities "by" each other probably did not exceed 25 air kilometers.

The idea that any two entities the Nephites considered "by" each other were relatively proximate is supported when we look at some of the other prepositions the text uses in association with the term "borders" (the singular, "border," is not attested):

• near Alma 27:14
• in Mosiah 23:25
• within Mosiah 19:6
• into Alma 16:2
• upon Alma 62:32
• to Alma 51:28
• around Alma 16:3
• joining Alma 21:1
• round about Alma 28:1
• on Alma 51:26
• as far as 3 Nephi 4:13

So, in the Nephite worldview, Utah would not have been "by" California. Utah would have been by both Nevada and Arizona, both of which would have been by California. Provo would not have been "by" Salt Lake City; although Provo would have been by Utah Lake, Salt Lake City would have been by the Great Salt Lake, and Utah County would have been by Salt Lake County.
  

We have deduced a likely value for the Nephite standard unit of distance measure called "one days journey"Helaman 4:7. In the New World that value was probably close to 15 air or straight-line kilometers per day. See the article "Land Southward Travel Times." In the Old World, that distance was almost certainly greater. Camel caravans plying the sands of Arabia routinely travel 25 - 40 air kilometers per day. In this article we will investigate all instances of the term "day" with variants used in a travel context. We have previously analyzed the likely meaning of the terms "near,""not far," and "far" in the text. See the article "Things Near and Far." In Nephite usage, "near" probably meant a distance not to exceed 5 air kilometers. Distances of 5 - 10 air kilometers were "not far," and distances of 10 - 200 air kilometers were probably considered routine, neither near nor far. Our study shows a distance in excess of 400 air kilometers would have been considered "far" in Nephite terminology. Our model was shown to be in complete accord with this understanding of the distances implied by these words. Our recent analysis of the term "by" in spatial contexts (see the article "By and By") led us to conclude two entities that were by each other would probably not have been more than 25 air kilometers distant, with a high likelihood they were immediately adjacent. After some modifications to our model to accommodate newly-acquired insights (we extended the land of Jershon to the seacoast to comply with our new understanding of Alma 27:22) our model is now 100% compatible with this interpretation.

With this background, we are prepared to test our correlation against passages in the text where relative distance is either expressed or implied in terms of a day's travel.

1 Nephi 2:6 says Lehi and family traveled three days in the wilderness from the shores of the Red Sea to the valley of Lemuel. We correlate the shores of the Red Sea with the area around modern Aqaba, Jordan and follow George Potter's and Craig Thorsted's suggestion that the valley of Lemuel is a steep canyon about 2.5 air kilometers west of Tayyib al Ism, Saudi Arabia.

109 Air Kilometers from Shores of Red Sea to Valley of Lemuel

109/3 = 36.33 air kilometers per day which is feasible in the Near East.

146 Air Kilometers Valley of Lemuel to Shazer

1 Nephi 16:17 says the Lehites and Ishmaelites then traveled "many days" to the camp where Nephi broke his fine steel bow. Based on 1 Nephi 16:30 we site the camp of the broken bow at the foot of the most prominent mountain range along the coastal corridor between Duba on the north and Jeddah on the south. 2,279 meter Jabal Jar and 2,210 meter Jabal Radwa are peaks in this range. These mountains are home to the Nubian Ibex, a big game species still hunted today.

428 Air Kilometers from Shazer to Camp of the Broken Bow

428/36.33 = 11.78 days travel which fits the textual description of many days.

1,179 Air Kilometers from Camp of the Broken Bow to Nahom

1,179/36.33 = 32.45 days, in line with what the Nephite text considers "many days"Mosiah 7:4.
--
At this point, it is appropriate to celebrate the astonishing accuracy of the Nephite scribes. We went to some trouble to analyze cardinal and ordinal directions in the text. See the article "Test #5 North, South, East and West." But, in that study we failed to properly note the subtle nuances of directionality in 1 Nephi 16:13-14, 33. The three legs of this long journey:

• Valley of Lemuel to Shazer was "nearly a south-southeast direction." Our mapped azimuth is 147.93 degrees, only 9.57 degrees off true south-southeast (157.5 degrees). Nephi's description could hardly be more exact.
• Shazer to Camp of the Broken Bow was "following the same direction." Our mapped azimuth is 140.91 degrees, only 7.02 degrees from the Valley of Lemuel to Shazer heading. Nephi's subsequent comment shows he observed even that minor difference.
• Camp of the Broken Bow to Nahom followed "nearly the same course as in the beginning." In other words, the vector from Camp of the Broken Bow to Nahom was closer to the original Valley of Lemuel to Shazer heading (147.93) than was the second leg (140.91). Our mapped azimuth for the third leg is 144.95 degrees, only 2.98 degrees off the original Valley of Lemuel to Shazer metric. Nephi's description is strikingly precise.

--
The Lehite voyage from Bountiful in modern Oman to first nheritance in modern Chiapas or Guatemala consisted of three segments:

• Favorable winds for many days 1 Nephi 18:9.
• Four days of stormy backtracking 1 Nephi 18:14.
• Many more days of relatively smooth sailing 1 Nephi 18:23.

A typical path through the Indian Ocean, skirting the north of Australia and across the Pacific would have been about 25,000 kilometers in length or about 63% of the circumference of the earth.

25,012 Kilometer Proposed Lehi Ocean Voyage

1 nautical mile = 1 minute of longitudinal arc = approximately 1.852 kilometers at the equator. 1 knot = travel speed of 1 nautical mile per hour. A rule of thumb in the sailing world is that a typical ship under favorable wind can travel at a speed of 5 knots. 5 knots = approximately 9.26 kilometers per hour or 222.24 kilometers in a 24 hour day. If the Lehites averaged 5 knots on their circumnavigation, their voyage would have required 25,012/222.24 = 112.54 days. Factoring in the four days of tempest when they went backward, 120 days at sea seems like a reasonable estimate for their length of voyage. That easily fits the textual description of "many days" followed by another leg of "many days."   

Confluence of the Lacantun with the Upper Usumacinta

The Pasion Confluence.

Confluence of the Pasion with the Salinas to form the Usumacinta

And the Salama Confluence showing water backed up behind the Chixoy Dam.

Confluence of the Chixoy Negro with the Salama to form the Chixoy

This wild country could temporarily confuse travelers even today. The story of Ammon and his reconnaissance party is plausible given the terrain they traversed.

A more dramatic story of 43 strong men getting lost in the wilderness is told in Mosiah chapter 8. King Limhi's exploring party left the local land of Nephi bound for Zarahemla, but ended up at hill Ramah/Cumorah in the land northward. They were lost in the wilderness for "many days"Mosiah 8:8. This map shows the two known points on their epic journey.

664 Air Kilometers from Nephi to Ramah/Cumorah

We presume the Limhite explorers were not lost on their return trip back to Nephi, so the phrase "many days" applies to their outbound leg. 664/15 = 44.26 days, very close to the number the text explicitly calls "many" Mosiah 7:4.

20 Air Kilometers from Proposed Land of Helam to Plausible Valley of Alma Downstream on the Sidon

20 air kilometers is in line with the distance we would expect for this transect.

186.89 Air Kilometers Valley of Alma to SE Corner of the Local Land of Zarahemla

City of Ammonihah 3 Days' Journey North of Land of Melek 45.03 Air Kilometers Distant

Our model predicts 3 X 15 = 45 air kilometers distance.

Region of Lakes and Rivers in Land Northward

In the ca. 46 B.C. time period Helaman 3:4 refers to, Teotihuacan was in ascendancy near modern Mexico City. Teotihuacan was by the shores of a system of 5 ancient lakes that together covered a surface area of approximately 1,450 square kilometers.

After escaping King Noah's army Mosiah 18:34 Alma₁ and approximately 450 converts fled eight days' journey Mosiah 23:3 into the wilderness and founded the city and land of Helam named after Alma₁'s right hand man Mosiah 18:12. Careful reading allows us to identify ten characteristics, highlighted in aqua, that will help us locate Helam on the modern map. 1. Helam was a waypoint between the local land of Nephi and the local land of Zarahemla Mosiah 24:25. Helam will be in the general line of travel between Kaminaljuyu (our correlate for the city of Nephi) on the south and Boca del Cerro (our correlate for the border between the local land of Zarahemla and its southern wilderness) on the north. 2. From the point Alma₁'s group entered the wilderness north of the local land of Nephi, they traveled eight days to Helam Mosiah 23:3. Helam will be approximately 8 X 15 = 120 air kilometers (see the article "Land Southward Travel Times") north of the local land of Nephi wilderness border. 3. Natural characteristics of the Helam area should qualify as "beautiful and pleasant"Mosiah 23:4. 4. Something in the environment caused Mormon to describe Helam's water as "pure"Mosiah 23:4. 5. The ground around Helam will be arable Alma 23:5. 6. The description in Mosiah 24:20 suggests a long travel day. We will find a candidate for the valley of Alma approximately 20 air kilometers from the land of Helam in the general direction of Zarahemla. 7. The valley of Alma will be approximately 12 X 15 = 180 air kilometers from Boca del Cerro Mosiah 24:25. 8. The distance from the point the Lamanite army pursuing Limhi entered the wilderness to the land of Amulon Mosiah 23:31 and from there to the land of Helam Mosiah 23:25 will qualify as "many days"Mosiah 23:30 travel. 9. Characteristics of the territory between Helam and Nephi will explain how both the priests of Noah and a Lamanite army could get lost Mosiah 23:35. 10. There will be one logical way to travel efficiently between Helam and Nephi Mosiah 23:36-37.

Our candidate for the land of Helam is the area around the confluence of the Rio Las Mulas and the Arroyo del Cerro with the Icbolay in the northern part of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The modern town of San Benito is 7 kilometers west across the Icbolay. This map shows the location about 14 kilometers south of the east-west Mexico-Guatemala line.

Proposed Land of Helam on the Icbolay River

1. The map below shows a typical ancient route (in white) from highland Guatemala to the middle Usumacinta following first the Motagua, then the Salama, then the Cahabon, then the San Roman, and finally the Salinas which becomes the Usumacinta at the Pasion confluence. Our proposed land of Helam is 35 air kilometers from this route. Criterion #1 satisfied.

Typical Ancient Route (in white) from Highland Guatemala to the Usumacinta Coastal Plain

Laguna Lachua Sulphur Water and Salinas de los Nueve Cerros Salt Water near Proposed Helam

With sulphur and salt water in close proximity, Mormon's description of Helam's pure water seems logical and apt. Criterion #4 satisfied. Mormon uses the phrase "pure water" one other time in the text to describe the waters of Mormon Mosiah 18:5 which were also in a sylvan setting, associated with Alma₁ and baptism. This makes it likely the term "multiply" in Mosiah 23:20 refers to religious conversions in addition to natural increase. Baptismal symbolism is also implied by the adjective "beautiful" applied uniquely to Mormon Mosiah 18:30 and Helam Mosiah 23:4, the only 2 places in the text to merit that appellation. This is certainly Mormon's way of indicating a relationship with and partial fulfillment of the prophecies in 1 Nephi 13:37; Mosiah 12:21, Mosiah 15:15-18; and 3 Nephi 20:40 explicated by Abinadi.

5. Farming takes place today in the area we have identified as Helam, so obviously the ground is arable and supports crop production. This satellite image shows worked fields on the outskirts of settlement just as the text describes Mosiah 23:25.

Agriculture in the Proposed Land of Helam

Criterion #6 satisfied.

Proposed Valley of Alma Ringed by Highlands and Rivers

As this map shows, a 20 air kilometer distance from our land of Helam fits comfortably in the proposed valley of Alma.

20 Air Kilometers Land of Helam to Valley of Alma

Downstream on the Chixoy, our candidate valley of Alma is clearly in the line of tavel toward Zarahemla in the coastal plain. Criterion #6 satisfied.

186.74 Air Kilometers Valley of Alma to Local Land of Zarahemla

Criterion #7 satisfied.

Sierra de las Minas between the Motagua on the South and the Polochic on the North

Second was the Narrow Strip of Wilderness - a band of cliffs along the Polochic Fault - shown as a green line on the map below.

Narrow Strip of Wilderness Line of Cliffs (in green)

Third was the Sierra de Xucaneb mountain range rising to heights above 2,600 meters between the Polochic and the Cahabon. The westward extension jutting into the great bend of the Chixoy we correlate with Hill Riplah south of Manti.

Sierra de Xucaneb between the Polochic on the South and the Cahabon on the North

Fourth was the broad series of east-west elevations knows as the Sierra de Chama north of the Cahabon rising to heights above 1,900 meters.

Sierra de Chama North of the Cahabon

Fifth was the crazy quilt of rivers flowing in every direction. On the map below, the rivers in red are part of the Usumacinta drainage basin. The rivers in yellow flow to the Caribbean. The black lines are river courses detected by satellite-sensed elevation analysis, most of which we have not yet traced into our database of southern Mesoamerican rivers.

Broken Country around Land of Amulon

The mountains and rivers are all oriented east-west. The destination, Nephi, is south southwest. Hundreds of small rounded hillocks and depressions dot the landscape. It is no wonder travelers could become disoriented. Criterion #9 satisfied.

10. A surefire route exists from Helam back to Nephi. It follows the very large Chixoy River to the valley south of Manti, then the Cahabon, back to the Chixoy by the head of Sidon, and then the Salama to the pass over the Sierra de las Minas. That gets you back in the Motagua drainage where the mountains and rivers are predictable and much easier to navigate. The part of the Chixoy outlined in black is  generally avoided even today because it is so rugged. Switching back and forth between the Chixoy and the Cahabon to get across the narrow strip of wilderness probably contributed to the Amulonites' and Lamanites' disorientation in the first place.

Reliable Route Helam to Nephi

Alma₁ shared the key - following the right rivers - and everyone got safely home Mosiah 23:38. Criterion #10 satisifed.

Garth Norman and I just returned from a 10 day expedition to Peru where we visited the following pre-Inca sites listed in approximate chronological order by date of first occupation:

• Caral near Supe, 3,000 B.C.
• Sechin near Casma, 2.800 B.C.
• Chavin de Huantar in the city of the same name, 2,400 B.C.
• Paracas Candelabra and shell middens near Paracas, 800 B.C.
• Palpa Lines near Palpa 600 B.C.
• Cahuachi near Nazca, 100 B.C.
• Pachacamac near Lurin in greater Lima A.D. 200
• Nazca Lines near Nazca A.D. 400
• Mateo Salado in Lima A.D. 1,100

In addition, we visited the following museums:

El Lanzon, Chavin, with Overhead Window

3 of the 6 Pyramids at Caral, Oldest Civilization in the Americas

Today was not really John L. Sorenson's birthday. He turned 90 on April 8th, 2014. But, today was a large birthday celebration with family and friends. It was a delight to spend a few moments with one of the greatest minds in Mormondom, the dean of LDS Mesoamericanists and the man who has done more than any other to help us understand the relationship between Nephite scripture and ancient American civilizations.

John L. Sorenson during the First NWAF Field Season, Tabasco,Mexico, 1953

Another Photo of John L. Sorenson during the First NWAF Field Season near Huimanguillo, Tabasco, Mexico, 1953

John L. Sorenson Lecturing in La Venta Park, Villahermosa, Tabasco on the First (and Only) FARMS Tour to Mesoamerica, 1984

Jack Welch, John Sorenson & Kirk Magleby, 1980 - 1985 FARMS Officers, at John L. Sorenson's 90th Birthday Celebration, May 2, 2014

The 79th Annual Meeting of the SAA, Society for American Archaeology, was held April 23 - 27, 2014 in Austin, Texas. On Sunday, April 27th, one of the sessions was a symposium on digital archaeology. Garth Norman and Jason Jones presented a paper about their work photographing the monuments of Izapa with RTI reflectance transformation imaging. This advanced 3D imaging technique reveals surface information not visible to the naked eye and results in more accurate renderings of plaster, wood or stone carvings than was possible in an earlier era using line drawings and traditional 2D photography. Richard D. Hansen, Director of the Mirador Basin Project, was in attendance and responded favorably to the Norman/Jones presentation.

Webb has lectured at BYU on three previous occasions. His lecture today treated some of the themes in Mormon Christianity which for obvious reasons has been well-received in the LDS scholarly community. I found some of his thinking on Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon quite stimulating. The words that follow are from my notes of Webb's lecture. Inline scriptural citations are my additions.

• Joseph Smith as a theologian is both powerful and attractive.
• Mormons breathe more of the air of Jesus Christ's original church than any other Christians.
• Mormonism's open canon enhances the New Testament. It does not change the New Testament. Other branches of early Christianity (Gnosticism, Marcionism, Arianism) tried to change the New Testament. The creeds, particularly the Nicene creed, were responses to these heresies.
• Mormonism's enhancements to the Christian canon are not like chocolate added to milk that changes the nature of the milk. They are like another topping added to a banana split that makes the already attractive dessert even more delicious.
• Restoration movements in traditional Christianity have typically tried to strip away layers of tradition accumulated over centuries to get back to some idealized simplicity from a previous era. Joseph Smith's restoration is an addition, not a subtraction. The Book of Mormon says many plain and precious things were lost from original Christianity 1 Nephi 13:26-29 and need to be recovered.
• "Translation" in other Christian traditions today means an attempt by scholars to get back to the the earliest, cleanest and simplest texts of important writings. "Translation" to Joseph Smith meant exegesis, inspired accretions and fuller explications. The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, JST, removes very little and adds a great deal to the Biblical text. Joseph Smith's translation of the gold plates produced another testament that adds to both the Old and New Testaments in profound ways. Joseph's translations are not trying to change or simplify or de-mystify the Bible. They affirm and re-establish biblical authority.
• The King James Version, KJV, is not the most accurate translation of the Bible currently available, but it is almost certainly the most inspired. The KJV translators did what Joseph Smith did - made an ancient text come alive with language their contemporaries found compelling.
• The Book of Mormon is the last flowering of the King James brilliance.
• Joseph Smith lived within the Bible more than any other person of his age. The Book of Mormon established his prophetic bona fides but Joseph's worldview was thoroughly biblical.
• Yet, Joseph's Bible was not the same as the Lutheran, Wesleyan or Calvinist Bible. Joseph denied biblio solitude - the Bible in isolation. For Joseph, the Bible was singular but not alone, supreme but not barren. It was a living, breathing reality that could be made even more glorious through the restoration of ancient texts and ordinances. In an 1833 letter to his Uncle Silas, Joseph said the word spoken to Noah was not sufficient for Abraham and neither was the Bible sufficient for our day.
• In Joseph's world, the word of God is eternal but translatable. a translator is a mediator reading between scriptural lines. Translation is extrapolation and affirmation.
• Jews add targumim to the Torah. Catholics add tradition to the Bible. For Catholics, canon and creed work together in a seamless whole. The creeds are criteria. Creeds are extra-canonical scriptures meant to interpret the canon. A creed closes the canon and sets rules for how to read scripture. The Nicene creed expands the Bible.
• The Book of Mormon far surpasses the Nicene creed in affirming the hermeneutics of the Bible.
• In the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ is God the Creator Mosiah 3:8, Helaman 14:12. In the Nicene creed, God the Father is the Creator.
• The Nicene creed omits the Old Testament narrative except for the single gloss on Genesis 1:1. The Book of Mormon fills in the gaps in the Old Testament. Who did Ezekiel see on His throne atop the dome of heaven? Ezekiel 1:26-28? Ezekiel saw Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon makes this wonderfully clear. Old Testament theophanies should be cristophanies. The Book of Mormon is unapologetically christological in Old Testament times. Critics have assailed this as an egregious flaw in the text stemming from Joseph's naivete. It is actually a major strength. The Book of Mormon re-enthrones Jesus Christ pre-incarnation.
• Putting Jesus in Old Testament theophanies supported the Arian speculations, so the councils put a stop to that with the creeds.
• The Book of Mormon is a magnificent hermeneutical key to the Bible just as Nephi prophesied it would be 1 Nephi 13:40.
• For Mormons, the Book of Mormon is a rule of faith, a communal linguistic explication of their worldview.
• For Protestant fundamentalists, the Bible is one flat book with a single fold - the Old Testament and the New Testament. Catholics see small folds on almost every page with mystical readings and allegories. The Catholic Bible is book-ended with the authority of the Church on one side and the Nicene Creed on the other. Mormons have so many folds in so many different dimensions their Bible is more like a piece of origami art than a flat book.
• The Book of Mormon is more than a mere supplement to the Bible. It adds to the Bible without damaging it, but in ways that enhance and expand the original. After the Book of Mormon, the Bible is not the same as it was before. It is more profound, more cosmic, more glorious. The truth claims of the Bible are significantly strengthened with the addition of the Book of Mormon. These two books complement each other inside and outside. The Nephites, like Joseph Smith, lived in a world heavily influenced by the Bible.
• Thought doubles reality because you now have external forces and internal consciousness. The Book of Mormon is like the Bible thinking about itself. The two are intertwined in a productive, virtuous cycle.
• The five components of the Mormon canon (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine & Covenants) form a complex piece of 3D art. It is hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.
• Is the Atonement limited by human agency? In the JST, Joseph added that the famous phrase of Jesus on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do"Luke 23:34 applied to the Roman soldiers who ignorantly sinned but not necessarily to the Jewish leadership who ordered the crucifixion with malice aforethought. The Book of Mormon explicitly says Christ's Atonement applies to those who ignorantly sin Mosiah 3:11.
• Webb had high praise for the BYU New Testament Commentary project. He called S. Kent Brown's commentary on the Gospel of Luke "brilliant." He finds the prospect of reading the New Testament in light of the expanded Mormon canon exciting.
• The uniquely Mormon scriptures are hermeneutical keys to the Bible in living, productive, symbiotic relationships with their host.
• Webb feels a personal calling to dialogue with Mormons. The conversations have blessed his life in many ways. Mormonism has made him a better Christian, particularly as it has helped him personally reconcile science and revealed religion.
• The strongest part of the Book of Mormon is its account of Christ's visit to the Americas. This helps us better understand Jesus' history before the incarnation. His post-resurrection ministry is strengthened by His pre-mortal ministry and vice versa.
• The Jesus of the Book of Mormon is a truly human, truly divine, robustly personal Savior. Jesus is the proclaimer, but He is also the good news. He is the cosmic Jesus.
• The Savior's ministry in the Americas helps us understand his descent into hell and the appropriate relationship we should have with our dead.Catholic excesses regarding the dead (inherit your father's ill-gotten estate and then pay the Church to get Dad out of purgatory) led to a Protestant repudiation of the Biblical concept of filial piety Leviticus 19:3. Protestants with few exceptions pay scant attention to the Savior's descent into hell. For Joseph Smith, baptism for the dead was one of the most important parts of God's plan for humanity.
• Orthodox Christian theology is closer to Mormon thought in many ways than Roman Catholicism is. With 300 million adherents, orthodoxy is the 2nd largest branch on the Christian tree. After a century of decline under the Nazis and then the Communists, orthodoxy is back in a big way. But, Orthodox Christians don't dialogue with anyone. Rooted in patristics and an unchanging liturgy, they view any form of compromise as heretical so the entire notion of ecumenical outreach is foreign to them.
• Mormonism should re-think the apostasy. The Christian body has preserved many wonderful things from the dawn of the era and those things should be celebrated rather than vilified. Mormonism can and should enhance Christianity without denigrating it.

Stephen Webb's Latest Book from Oxford University Press