A New Landing Site for Lehi – Part I

Since no ship could have sailed up the Mississippi River in 600 BC as theorists used to claim, and has been pointed out here time and time again would have been impossible, Heartland theorists now have evidently decided to land Lehi along the south coast of North America (north coast of the Gulf of Mexico), then have them travel on foot from a landing site near Tallahassee, Florida, up the Chattahoochee River to its source at Unicoi Gap, Georgia, with the source of the Hiawassee River taking them to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Some theorists now claim Lehi landed around Tallahassee in western Florida, and then traveled due north to Chattanooga in Tennessee where they built the city of Nephi

This 385-mile trek after landing seems to contradict the simple statements in the Book of Mormon where Nephi wrote: “after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.” This statement suggests that they pitched their tents where they landed, planted their seeds, which grew exceedingly, and harvested an abundant crop” (1 Nephi 18:23-24), all in the area of their landing. Which is also where they stayed, until after Lehi’s death (2 Nephi 4:12), at which time Nephi was told by the Lord to flee from his brothers and take those who would go with him (2 Nephi 5:5).
    However, such an initial unmentioned and unsuggested journey would also have been near impossible for the aging Lehi and Sariah, who Nephi also describes just before landing as: “my parents being stricken in years, and having suffered much grief because of their children, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds” (1 Nephi 18:17). This illness deepened in the final stages of the voyage to where Nephi added, “Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow into a watery grave” (1 Nephi 18:18).
    According to these theorists, the Mulekites may have landed at the Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi River in 589 BC, and continued up the Mississippi and settled upriver at Montrose, Iowa or Zarahemla (D&C 125:3). The Mulekites had always remained at their first location when Mosiah found them (Omni 1:16). “And they journeyed in the wilderness and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.”
    On the other hand, they point out, Nephi could then travel up the Chattahoochee River to its source at Unicoi Gap, Georgia. The source of the Hiawassee River could then take the Nephites where the first temple may have been built in Chattanooga.

To take the theorist’s suggested course would be by river from its source in Rocky Mountain near Unicoi Gap, to the northwest, then drop south down the Tennessee River to the Chattanooga area and there built Nephi’s temple

First of all, the source (headwaters) of the Hiawassee River is on the north slope of Rocky Mountain (4,016 feet) in the Chattahoochee National Forest in the north of Georgia, and flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee River (confluence) a few miles west of State Route 58 in Meigs County, Tennessee. The river is about 147 miles long, making this route 158 miles from Unicol Gap, Georgia, about 40 miles longer than a direct overland route westward.
    With their Zarahemla at Montrose, Iowa, across from Nauvoo, they claim the river were likely the highways of the Nephites, and that the land in Tennessee is higher in elevation than Zarahemla. Consequently, they say, that is why in the scriptures always talk about the Nephites traveling “up to” the Land of Nephi and “down to” Zarahemla, as it is a reference to elevation not direction.
    However, these theorists seem to think that an elevation of 676’ for Chattanooga and an elevation of 531’ for Montrose (their Zarahemla), which only amounts to a difference of 145’ over a distance of 387 miles, which is only about 4” per mile, would be sufficient to describe going “up” to and “down” to an area. In addition, the elevations along a route from Chattanooga to Montrose, Iowa, the elevation varies: Chattanooga 671’, then down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, at 499’, then down to Evansville, Kentucky, 387’, then up to Springfield, Illinois, at 558’, and up to Decatur at 677’ and Carthage, Illinois, at 669’, and then down to Montrose at 387’. Not only is there little difference in this area between Chattanooga and Montrose, but on the east side of the Mississippi, the land slopes slightly upward from around 400 feet to the mid 600-feet elevation, with Rushville, West Point, and Augusta, Illinois all in the 660s elevation, consistent with the elevation of Chattanooga.
    That means there is no overall difference between elevations near Montrose and that of Chattanooga. One can hardly say, as these theorists do, that you would go “up” to Chattanooga and “down” to Montrose.
    The point is, this area to the east of the Mississippi is in the mid-600s as is Chattanooga—or no overall difference, before dropping down to 387’ at Montrose. This is inconsistent with not only the above scriptural references of “up” and “down,” but also opposed to the description given about Ammon.
    This is important because it is descriptive of the city of Nephi. That is, Chattanooga is encased on the north and west with the Tennessee River, and coming from the north or northwest, which is the direction of Montrose, Iowa, the Tennessee River would have to be crossed twice, and the second time would be lower than any surrounding hills. Yet, Ammon is described as “And when they had wandered forty days they came to a hill, which is north of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents. And Ammon took three of his brethren, and their names were Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they went down into the land of Nephi” (Mosiah 7:5-6, emphasis added).
    In order for Ammon and his brethren to “go down” to the city of Nephi, they would have to cross a major river that drains 41,000 square miles and inlcudes parts of seven states—one would think some mention of such a large river would have been mentioned in the record, such as “and they went down and crossed a river into the land of Nephi” had there been a river there.
    They also state that “Today from the top of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, you can see 7 different states.” However, Lookout Mountain is to the southwest of Chattanooga, not the north where Ammon arrived with his brethren. In fact, to the north of Chattanooga is Red Bank at 722-feet, to the east is Ridgeside at 846-feet, and to the south is Rossville at 699-feet. Lookout mountain is a single hill 1850-feet in elevation; however, when subtracting Chattanooga’ elevation of 676’, Lookout Mountain is only 1174 feet above the surrounding landscape.

Lookout Mountain southwest of Chattanooga is not really a mountain, but an uplifted rock plateau over 1100-feet above the surrounding flat elevation; and if the topography of the Land of Promise was indeed this flat, why could  Limhi's 43-man expedition not find Zarahemla, and why could Ammon and his brethren not find the city of Nephi until after 40-days wandering in the wilderness?

However, it is quite interesting that if one can truly see seven states from this limited elevation, it shows that the entire area is quite flat, as the figures above show, making this entire area completely inconsistent with the heights attributed to the Land of Nephi, and the City of Nephi in the scriptural record.
    Again, according to these theorists, “The Moccasin Bend Archaeological District is rich in head plates, breastplates of copper, and other artifacts dating from 3000 BC to 1500 AD. Moccasin Bend is an area west of Chattanooga where the Tennessee River makes a large loop, or bend, southward then curves back northward around the Moccasin Bend Peninsula, before making a another huge bend and turns westward to loop a third time through Nickajack Lake before heading south into Alabama on its way to Guntersville Lake.

View from Lookout Mountain of the Moccasin Bend, downtown Chattanooga and the Cumberland Plateau on the horizon 

Though it is claimed a much earlier date, the artifacts of Moccasin Bend actually are between 700 BC and 1000 AD, called the Woodland Period; however, it wasn’t until the Mississippian Period (900AD to 1650AD) that the native people began building large mound complexes that these theorists associate with the Nephite Nation.
(See the next post, “A New Landing Site for Lehi – Part II,” regarding additional coverage of the Heartland Theorists claims of the Chattanooga area of Tennessee being the city of Nephi and the area of Montrose, Iowa, being Zarahemla)