In order to evaluate the geographical location of the "land of Jerusalem" (Alma 21:1,2), the Book of Mormon student should keep a number of scriptural references in mind:
(1) According to Alma 21:1-2, the land of Jerusalem was "away joining the borders of Mormon."
(2) According to Mosiah 18:4 and Alma 5:3, the land of Mormon was "in the borders of the land of Nephi."
(3) According to 3 Nephi 9:7, at the time of Christ's death, a city of Jerusalem was destroyed "and waters have I [the Lord] caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness."
Assuming a Mesoamerican setting and in accordance with the geographical theory of Joseph Allen, the waters of Mormon correlate with the beautiful, fresh-water resort of Lake Atitlan (see the commentary on Mosiah 18:4,5,8). A breach in the lake is obvious to the visitor. This is the area that is proposed as the city of Jerusalem. In their book, The Messiah in Ancient America, Warren and Ferguson wrote that during a period of low water in the 1930's, ruins [Chuitnamit and Chukumuk] were detected in the water and ceramics were recovered that had the same style and pattern as the ruins of Kaminaljuyu (Pre Classic) in Guatemala city (the proposed local land of Nephi). Lake Atitlan is flanked by three large volcanoes that today are called San Pedro, Atitlan, and Toliman. The submerged archaelogical ruins of Chuitnamit and Chukumuk are located near the town of Santiago Atitlan, which lies at the base of the volcano Atitlan. The volcanic peak of San Pedro demonstrates a past blow-out, indicating the possibility of water's covering an inland city. The three large volcanoes tend to separate different villages so that the phrases "he departed [from the city of Jerusalem] and came over to a village which was called Ani-Anti" and "they departed [from the village of Ani-Anti] and came over into the land of Middoni" (see Alma 21:11-12) are appropriate when talking about travel between the villages.
If the destroyed city of Jerusalem was the same as the city of Jerusalem mentioned in Alma 21:1-2, then it must meet the following requirements:
1. It should be located near the borders of the Lamanites and near the borders of the land of Mormon.
2. It should be by an inland lake not too far removed from the city of Nephi.
3. It should have evidence of settlements dating to 100 B.C.
4. It should reflect geological evidence of water covering the area.
All four requirements are met with the townsite of Santiago Atitlan. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, pp. 249,325] [See the commentary on Mosiah 18:4 and 3 Nephi 9:7]