Landforms of the Land of Promise – Part I

A landform is a feature on the Earth's surface that is part of the terrain, and an important feature for geographers and cartographers in mapping or in the describing the topographic features of an area. Based on Mormon’s writings, and those of other ancient prophets found in the scriptural record, Lehi’s promised land was shaped and contained certain, well-known terrain features, many of which would be visible today and key factors in determining the location of the Land of Promise.

Such features described in the scriptural record regarding the land of the Jaredites, Nephites and Lamanites, include such landforms or features as:

• A western shore where Lehi landed in the West Sea, and where they settled (1 Nephi 18:23), in the borders by the seashore, which was called “the Land of First Inheritance” (Alma 22:28) in the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 9:1);

Land of Promise as Mormon describes the area around the Narrow Neck of Land

 

• A western shore where Lehi landed in the West Sea, and where they settled (1 Nephi 18:23), in the borders by the seashore, which was called “the Land of First Inheritance” (Alma 22:28) in the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 9:1);

• A Narrow Neck of Land between or connecting the two major landforms—the Land Southward to the Land Northward (Alma 22:32; 63:5)—that could he crossed in a day-and-a-half (Alma 22:32);

• A Narrow Passage (Mormon 2:29) or Pass that led into the Land Southward (Mormon 3:5);

• A land called Desolation to the north of the narrow neck of land, and a land to the south called Bountiful (Alma 22:31)

• Very high mountains, whose height was great (Helaman 14:23);

• A major river whose head or source was high in the mountains between the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla (Alma 22:27);

• A sea to the West and a sea to the East of the Land of Promise (Alma 22:27; Alma 50:34);

• Large bodies of water, called the Land of Many Waters, is far to the north (Alma 50:29; Helaman 3:3-4);

•  “The land of Zarahemla is north of the land of Nephi; the lands of Zarahemla and Nephi are near an east and a west sea; and a narrow strip of wilderness divides the land of Zarahemla from the southern land of Nephi (Alma 49:10; 51:11; 53:10)”:

• There are limits to how far north the land existed in the Land of Promise (3 Nephi 4:23; 7:12);

• Lehi's promised land or Land of Promise being an island (2 Nephi 10:20).

There are other areas in the record, of course, and others—such volcanoes—that are implied by the description of the damage to the Land of Promise at the time of the crucifixion.

Take as an example, how other theories and locations stand up against these 12 points and descriptions of Mormon listed above:

1. “A western shore where Lehi landed in the West Sea, and where they settled (1 Nephi 18:23), in the borders by the seashore, which was called “the Land of First Inheritance” (Alma 22:28) in the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 9:1)”:

Mesoamerican landing of Lehi along the southern Guatemalan shore close to the El Salvador border

 

• Mesoamerica. In this model and theory, Lehi sailed through Indonesia, across the Pacific, and landed on the south shore of the Sea West in what is now Guatemala near the El Salvador border of Central America (Mesoamerica). They also claim that Nephi’s traveled only 60 miles in his escape from his brothers to settle the City of Nephi. Also note the Yucatan Peninsula in their eastern shore of the Land Southward—there is no corresponding match or even suggestion in the scriptural record of this major geographical feature;

Lehi Landing, Nephi’s escape to Chattanooga, and the four seas mentioned far to the North. Note Land of Nephi bordering on the Land of Bountiful and the Land of Zarahemla to the west of Bountiful

 

• Heartland: These theorists claim Lehi sailed around the Cape of Africa and across the Atlantic into the Gulf of Mexico, landing on the south shore of the Florida panhandle at Apalachicola. From there Nephi sailed north up the Flint River when escaping from his brothers, to Unicoi Gap, Georgia, trekked across to the Tennessee River and sailed westward to Chattanooga, a distance of 450 miles, where he built the city of Nephi. Note the widening of the mid to lower Mississippi to support that being the Sea West (South), and the Land of Zarahemla to the west of both Desolation and Bountiful lands. Also note that the Sea South (Lake Erie) is north of the entire Land Southward, including the Land of Bountiful and the Land of Nephi;

Great Lakes Map showing the ancient waters of lake Tonawanda. Note the narrow Genesee River as the Sea East

 

• Great Lakes: Phyllis Carol Olive, Vernal Holly, Delbert Curtis, and W. Vincent Coon, have all placed their Land of Promise around the Great Lakes. While there are many similarities, each has a slightly different map of locations among the lakes. Some have brought Lehi up the Ohio River to Lake Erie, others down from the St. Lawrence River to land in Lake Ontario or Lake Erie. However, with rapids rampant in the St. Lawrence River at Montreal where goods were portaged three miles in order to continue up river; or others claim a connection between the Ohio and Lake Erie were none existed—Lake Erie could not be reached by ship or boat from the Atlantic until the Erie Canal was dug in 1817 and opened in 1821, and Lake Ontario could not be reached from the St. Lawrence until the Welland Canal lock system, connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, enabled vessels to bypass Niagara Falls. And the St. Lawrence Seaway lock system tamed the St. Lawrence River, enabling ships to sail from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean since 1959

2. Another example pertains to “A Narrow Neck of Land between or connecting the two major landforms—the Land Southward to the Land Northward (Alma 22:32; 63:5)—that could he crossed in a day-and-a-half (Alma 22:32)”:

(See the next post for the continuation of these 12 Landforms and how Mesoamerican, Heartland and Great Lakes theories measure up to Mormon and other prophets of the scriptural record have described them)