Meldrum’s 14 Factors Claiming Proof of an Apalachicola, Florida, landing site for Lehi – Part V

Continued from the previous post regarding an evaluation of Meldrum’s 14 factors, and why a voyage around Africa for Lehi and a landing in Florida is ill-founded. The first factor was begun in the previous posts along with items 2-7, and continued below with Factor 8:

8. Similar Latitude: Seeds would grow.
30° 26′ 17″ N (Tallahassee, FL) CFA
30° 04’42” N (Cairo, Egypt) BWH
31° 46′ 48″ N  (Jerusalem). CSA
19° 43’ 26” N (Mexico City) CWB
15° 30′ 0″ N (Guatemala) CWB

It is correct that Mexico City and Guatemala (in fact, all of Mesoamerica) lack the climate for Lehi’s seeds to produce a crop, let alone an abundant one where the crops grew exceedingly. However, like many people, who misunderstand the climate, it is not solely based on latitude. In fact, it is largely a long-term view of weather and the measurable aspects of a climate that are based upon several factors.

These factors are its location relative to the poles, the temperate zones, the tropics and the equator, in combination with factors of altitude, proximity to the sea, and wind directions, as well as temperatures, precipitation, sun exposure, humidity, and the direction of the winds that traverse the region—certain climates, like the Mediterranean, are found in a narrow band north and south of the equator, and exist in only five locations outside of the Mediterranean Sea coasts.

This major climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters and located between about 30° and 45° latitude north and south of the Equator and on the western sides of the continents. As an example, the climate of San Diego, California (Los Angeles), at 32.7º north latitude is the same as the climate at La Serena (Coquimbo) in Chile, at about 29.9º south latitude—the same Mediterranean Climate as that found at Jerusalem (31.7º). All three are within that latitudinal band, on the west coasts and have the same flora and other factors of matching climates.

However, there are far more matches with greater latitude differences, such as the climate of Iquitos, Peru, which is at 3.7º South latitude is the same climate as that found at Cobán Guatemala, at 15º North Latitude; and the climate of Saltillo, Mexico at 25º North Latitude has the same climate as that of La Paz, Bolivia at 16º South Latitude; and that of Windoek, Namibia (Africa) at 22º South Latitude, is the same climate as that of Las Vegas, Nevada, at 36º North Latitude.

The three major climate classifications in the mid and eastern United States where Meldrum places Lehi’s landing and the Land of Promise

 

This Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters and located between about 30° and 45° latitude north and south of the Equator and on the western sides of the continents. In the Köppen-Geiger-Pohl system, it is divided into the Csa and Csb subtypes. Poleward extension and expansion of the subtropical anticyclone over the oceans bring subsiding air to the region in summer, with clear skies and high temperatures. When the anticyclone moves Equator-ward in winter, it is replaced by traveling, frontal cyclones with their attendant precipitation.

However, the determining factor for the Mediterranean Climate is not latitude but position along the West Coast and the measurable aspects mentioned above—seen in Wladimir Köppen Climate Classification. Köppen was a Russian-German geographer, meteorologist, climatologist and botanist who was known for his delineation and mapping of the climatic regions of the world. He played a major role in the advancement of climatology and meteorology for more than 70 years until his death in 1940. His classifications cover all types of world climates, dividing climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. They are named 1) Tropical, 2) Desert/dry, 3) Temperate, 4) Polar, and 5) Mediterranean. They are divided into climatic types based on patterns of average precipitation, average temperature, and natural vegetation.

These groups are then broken down on a “letter’ system, being “A” (tropical), “B” (dry), “C” (temperate), “D” (continental), and “E” (polar); in turn they are given subzone classes: with lower case letters “f” usually assigned to zones A, C, and D climates. Lowercase "m" is used to designate rainforest climates, with “s” for places that have dry season in the summer. In contrast, lower case "w" is used for localities that have a dry season in the winter. Both “s” and “w” to winter or summer in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

A third letter denotes sub-zones—“a” is used to indicate hot summers where the summertime temperatures are above 72ºF in the warmest month. Zones C and D are climates where these conditions prevail. The lowercase letter "b" indicates warm summers with the warmest month below 72ºF, and found in C and D climates. Lowercase "c" are areas with cool, short summers lasting less than four months, with temperatures reaching over 50ºF, again found in C and D climates. “d” indicates very cold winters, with the coldest month below minus 36ºF. Areas with these conditions are found in the D climate only.

An "h" is for dry-hot with an average temperature that reaches above 64ºF, which are conditions found only in B climates. "k" designations have dry-cold climates where the average temperature does not get above 64ºF, conditions found only in B climates.

There are only five Mediterranean Climates outside the Mediterranean Sea coasts

 

Of the five Mediterranean Climates, of which only two are found in in the Western Hemisphere—Southern California and Coquimbo-La Serena, Chile—that match the climate of Jerusalem where Lehi’s seeds were grown, match theorists’ locations. They are not found in the Heartland or Great Lakes of North America, or anywhere in Mesoamerica.

As for Meldrum’s five locations—that he claims are places where Lehi’s seeds would grow—all are far outside the Mediterranean climate areas: Tallahassee, Florida CFA; Cairo, Egypt BWH; Mexico City CWB; and Guatemala City, Guatemala CWB. Using an even wider range:

• Florida panhandle, Tallahassee, Florida; Thomasville and Atlanta, Georgia; Baton Rouge Mississippi; Chattanooga, Tennessee—(Cfa) Humid subtropical climate.

• Cairo, Egypt—(Bwh) Hot desert climate;

• Mexico City, Guatemala City—(Cwb) Subtropical highland climate or Monsoon-influenced temperate oceanic climate;

• Coquimbo, La Serena, Chile—(Csa) Mediterranean climate.

• Jerusalem—(Csa) Mediterranean climate

• Coquimbo, La Serena, Chile—(Csa) Mediterranean climate

The climate of this Coquimbo-La Serena region is a “Mediterranean semi-arid zone” in the Classification system, and according to Donna Cortez of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Chile, in Santiago, “a Mediterranean Climate is where winter rains occur, caused by final influences of the westerlies wind belt. These winds transport frontal systems and migrating low pressure from the southwest. In addition, the subtropical anticyclone from the South Pacific, a prevailing feature at this latitude, influences the climate” (Donna Cortez, et al., “Climatic characteristics of the Atacama region,” In Red Book of Native Flora and Priority Sites for Conservation: Atacama Region; F. Squeo, et al., Eds, Serena University Editions, 2008, pp25–42); Automatic Weather Station (AWS) Network in the Atacama Region, Chile. Atmosphere, vol.11no.6, 2020, p611).

It should be clear then that Meldrum’s understanding of the growth of seeds in 600 BC, which was limited to developing seeds and planting them without modern techniques, fertilization or chemicals, is lacking—Lehi’s seeds simply would not have grown outside the same climate in which they were produced—that is, other than a Mediterranean Climate!

(See the next post, “Meldrum’s 14 Factors Claiming Proof of an Apalachicola, Florida, landing site for Lehi – Part VI,” regarding an evaluation of Meldrum’s 14 factors, and why a voyage around Africa for Lehi and a landing in Florida is ill-founded)