The Jaredite Lands in the Land Northward-Part I

The Jaredite barges landed along the Santa Elena Peninsula or Point, where the Humboldt Current sweeps up from the south along the western coast of Ecuador. Beyond this Point, the winds sweep the ocean currents toward the west and out to sea, with the northern currents sweeping down from the north above the equator., both north and south currents move toward the west along the coast. 
    Once landed, the Jaredites began to move inland and toward the mountains.

Top: Cloud Forests dominated the northwest along with (Bottom”) jungle-type rain forests along the west coast

    Two basic landscapes cover the central and western part of the country, from jungle rain forests in the west and along the coast (which has mostly been denuded this past century and is more of a desert and grassland area today),
    The Land Northward in Andean South America covered an area a little larger than Ecuador, including most of that present day country minus the southern portion from about the 2º south latitude southward, with the addition of a small portion of southern Colombia and a small portion of northeastern Peru. This would make the Land Northward about the size of Arizona around 113,000 square miles, and the seventh largest State in the U.S. in equivalent square miles.

At one time the northwest and along the coastal country was covered with dense forests 

    The Land Northward, then as now, was divided into three continental regions—the la Costa (the coast), la Sierra (the mountains), and el Oriente (the east). The continental regions extended the length of the land from south to north and after the rise of the Andes, were separated by those majestic mountain ranges, including the Chongon Colonche Range along the Pacific coastal area to the west, which, together with the Mache Chindul Range is the only major mountain range west of the Andes and covered in indigenous tropical wet forest (before large areas were cleared for agriculture in the most recent centuries). The Cordillera Occidental range is one of two main mountain ranges, and runs along the eastern half of the land, with the Cordillera Occidental running along the western portion. A third range of these Andes is the Cordillera Central or Real (Cordillera of Quito), a chain of mountains in between, including the major volcanic peaks of Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Cayambe (Chimboraxo is in the Cordillera Occidental). 

The Mountain ranges divide the Land Northward into three main vertically running divisions: La Costa (Gray), La Sierra (Pink), and El Oriente (Green), meaning the East  or Amazon Basin; also shows Jaredite Landing site; Narrow Neck area; three main cities of Nehor, Ablom and Moron. Yellow Arrow: Jaredite movement after landing; Dark Blue Circle: Where most of the Jaredite activity takes place; Light Blue Circle: the coastal area of Nehor 

    The natural land hazards of the Land Northward included frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; and periodic droughts and floods. 
    La Costa. The western coastal area of the Jaredite Land Northward bordered the Pacific Ocean to the west, encompassing a broad coastal plain, and then rose to the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the east. This coastal strip in the time of the Jaredites was forest, though by the time the Nephites moved into the land after 1600 years of Jaredite building and war, it was with treesout in the southern half of the land. Though the Nephites replanted trees beginning about 50 A.D., which grew into great forests by the time the Spanish arrived, today it is estimated that 98% of the native forest has once again been denuded in favor of cattle ranching and other agricultural production, including banana, cacao and coffee plantations.
    The forest fragments that do survive are primarily found along the coastal mountain ranges of Mache-Chindul, Jama-Coaque, and Chongon-Colonche, and include tropical dry forest, tropical wet forest, tropical moist evergreen forest, premontane cloud forest, and mangrove forest. Collectively known as the Pacific Equatorial Forest. These forest remnants are considered the most endangered tropical forest in the world, and are part of the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena biodiversity hotspot. It is of medium grain black sand and cinder. Windy beach with strong waves, it measures just under a mile and maintains an average width of 30 meters. Care should be taken to bathe in it by the force of the sea in the area. It is a mating and birth area for numerous humpback whales that come from the Antarctica Winds and Currents Along South America coast.

All along the whole coast of South America, from the southern tip to the equator, the wind blows from south to west all year around. North of the equator, the wind blows to the south and west. The water moves outward from south to west all along the coast until you reach the equator, then the coastal waters moves from north to west. 60 miles off shore there is a constant current to the northward, enabling shipping moving northward. From the south (Chiloe) to the equator, the current sets to the westward, and becomes stronger in the warmer latitude of Peru and been called the Peruvian Current. Its westerly set is felt on the coast between Arica and Pisco, especially to the southward of Pisco—this is where the South Pacific Equatorial Current Gyre heads west and out into the Pacific to cross toward the Philippines and Australia. Once a vessel reaches Paita along the northwest Peruvian coast, the westward currents become the strongest heading toward the Galápagos Islands
    It should be noted that along the coast in coastal waters a light wind blows southward, especially at night, which is a good way to reach Calleo (Lima); however, if sailing further south, one needs to go westward beyond the Peruvian Current and sail to the seaward, not minding being driven westward with the winds because they can make their easting on a parallel of Valparaiso.

The Santa Elena Peninsula is a 90-mile long peninsula coast extending from the Bay of Guayaquil in the east along the flat land of Data de Posorja. The Santa Elena Peninsula contains the westernmost point on mainland Ecuador and is bordered by the Gulf of Guayaquil to the south and the Santa Elena Bay to the north, and is the perfect shoreline to have caught the forward movement of all the Jaredite barges moving up the coast in the Humboldt Current to the north. The forests are dominated by Ceibo and Pigio trees reminiscent of Baobab trees in Africa. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in Cerro Blanco, among them 7 threatened species, 22 endemic species, and 30 range-restricted species. The macaws are carefully protected and are unlikely to be seen without special permission to gain access to the area where they're found. Many of these species were brought here by the Jaredites (Ether 2:2).
    The Peruvian Current would have swept the barges northward along the Peruvian coast, and with the cold water current between this Peruvian Current and the coast, the barges would have bypassed the westward surface current that strikes the bulge of  Peru and takes sailing vessels back out to sea. This light current bypasses to the west of Amortajada Island (now known as Santa Clara Island or Isla de Los Muertos), which sits astraddle the imaginary line between the ocean and the Gulf of Guayaquil, because in part of the shoals that stretch almost six miles off the Payanas Point off the southwestern tip of Jameli Island, pushing the current to the west, and the Amortajada Shoals that stretch out for two miles to the southwest of the island, some of which are awash. The current then continues on northward directly toward the eastern edge of Santa Elena Peninsula, through humpback whale infested waters, from which the Lord assured the Brother of Jared he would protect them (Ether 6:10). 
(See the next post, “The Jaredite Lands in the Land Northward-Part II,” for more information about the Land Northward and the Jaredite landing)