Perhaps the fault is with me, but I fail to see how "internally" (or within the scope of the scriptures cited here), the writer Mormon has demonstrated (notice he uses the word "thus") that the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water. However, if the reader has been comparing the descriptions made by Mormon in this section with a Mesoamerican setting, he should find that they fit quite adequately for reasons that go beyond dots and lines. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
Geographical [Theory Map]: Alma 22:32 Nearly Surrounded by Water (4th Year)
“A Small Neck of Land Between the Land Northward and the Land Southward”
J. N. Washburn writes: Is it not altogether likely that the limited distances of Central America have given us who are unacquainted with the country a wrong idea of the time requiried to traverse it? Should we be surprised to learn that it is no small matter to cross the Isthmus of Panama? In times past many have found to their dismay that a few miles could easily constitute a journey of no mean proportions. . . Writing of Panama, Harold Rugg (A History of American Civilization, p. 47) says, in connection with the Spaniards: "It is a difficult trip of 45 miles through the tropical forests, those dark forests of high trees festooned so thickly with vines and creepers. Even with the ax the Spaniards can hardlly break thorugh."
Another illustration from William Robertson (History of America, p. 203) is more to the point. He tells that in 1513 Balboa landed on the east coast of Darien. He had 190 men and one thousand Indians to carry his provisions. But he found that his progress was impeded by many obstacles. There were, of course, human enemies. But whereas the guide had represented to Balboa that the isthmus could be crossed in six days, the company spent more than twenty-five. Thus they made little more than two miles a day. [J. N. Washburn, An Approach to the Study of Book of Mormon Geography, pp. 110-111]
“A Small Neck of Land”
According to Verneil Simmons, as for the "small neck of land" being Panama, though Panama is only thirty-six miles wide at one point, the actual isthmus is more than 400 miles long, much of it too swampy to be utilized even today. One author has referred to the area in these terms:
An examination of the topography, vegetation and climate of Panama and the adjacent territory reveals a singularly and surprisingly difficult approach to South America today. Dire necessity alone would force primitive people to attempt the passage of such regions, especially if the difficulties of travel were enhanced by lack of geographical knowledge.
The 1971-72 Trans-America expedition Operation Darien made an attempt to cross the Darien Gap. On December 9, 1971, the Kansas City Times published an article about this expedition under the title "Alaska to Chile -- by Land." The following are excerpts from the article:
What makes a relatively simple, if extended, drive into an epic journey is El Tapon (the stopper), a 250-mile stretch of swamp and jungle, ravine and mountain from Canitas in Panama to Rio Leon in Colombia. This is the Darien Gap, part of the Isthmus of Panama. . . . No vehicle has ever crossed this hot and humid land. . . . This second phase of the journey, the real part of the expedition, is scheduled to take 12 weeks. The group is expected to average about two miles a day for most of the trek. Earlier this year a joint air-land reconnaissance trip revealed vertical ravines, streams and swamps mixed with steep ridges. It is estimated that 125 bridges will have to be built.
The United States Congress voted $100 million for completion of the Pan American Highway through this Darien Gap but that hope is still probably years away at best [as of 1996]. [Verneil W. Simmons, Peoples, Places and Prophecies, p. 112]
Alma 22:32 There being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward ([Illustration]): The Isthmus of Tehuantepec showing the Narrow Pass dividing two mountain ranges. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 281]
Alma 22:32 A small neck of land ([Illustration]): A narrow neck of land runs nearly two hundred miles along the Pacific coast of Guatemala and Mexico and has served as the primary north-south corridor of travel for millennia. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific and on the east by a formidable mountain land barrier--the Sierra Madre mountain range. In the area shown, the neck narrows, and there is a natural pass that leads into the land northward. Heavy fortifications have been discovered at this site just south of Tonala, Mexico. Just to the north of this pass the land is dry and desolate---to the south it is rich and verdant. Because of all the natural defenses here and the archaeological evidences in the area that match the descriptions from the Book of Mormon, some scholars believe this may be the region where the people gathered together to stand firm against the Gadiantons The references in the Book of Mormon do not give a clear indication that the narrow neck of land is surrounded by water, only that there is a sea on the west. The distance across this line between the two ecosystems at the north end of this narrow neck of land is about a day and a half's journey.
The descriptions given in the Book of Mormon of the narrow neck of land and the narrow pass that led into the land northward so perfectly match this region that it is hard not to recognize this area as being the most probable candidate. Space does not allow the verification of sites fortified not only during the 73 B.C. wars, but also during the last series of battles with General Mormon leading up the narrow neck and into the land northward. Years of tradition have pointed to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico as being the narrow neck of land, but on-site observations do not seem to support this unlikely candidate.) [Scot and Maurine Proctor, Light from the Dust, p. 161; Footnote, p. 207]
Alma 22:32 A small neck of land ([Illustration]): The Narrow Neck of Land. (1) Floods: "Vertical lines on this map show the Gulf of Mexico and Tehuantepec Isthmus areas worst hit by the current floods." (Mexico City News, 1968). Because much of this narrow neck of land is alluvial (i.e., built up from soil washed down from higher elevations), the neck was much narrower in Book of Mormon times. [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust, p. 154]
Geographical [Theory Map]: Alma 22:32 A Small Neck of Land (4th Year)
“A Small Neck of Land”
In our geographical studies of the Book of Mormon, we encounter the terms "small neck of land" (Alma 22:32), "narrow pass" (Alma 50:34, 52:9), "narrow neck" (Alma 63:5, Ether 10:20), and "narrow passage" (Mormon 2:29). Are the terms synonymous or different? Do these terms refer to the same geographical landmark? Let us examine them:
(A) Small neck of land: "And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half's journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward." (Alma 22:32)
(B) Narrow pass: "The narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east" (Alma 30:34). "The narrow pass which led into the land northward" (Alma 52:9).
(C) Narrow neck: "The narrow neck which led into the land northward" (Alma 63:5).
(D) Narrow passage: "the narrow passage which led into the land southward" (Mormon 2:29).
Three of the terms (B,C,D) imply a geographical entity which leads between a land southward and a land northward, while the fourth (A) is described as being located "between" a land northward and a land southward. Thus we might say: B = C = D or at least they are similar. We can also say that A is similar to B, and A is similar to C, and A is similar to D, or perhaps they might all be equal.
The small neck of land (A) was bordered on at least on one side and maybe two sides by a sea. The narrow pass (B) also "led by the sea . . . on the west and on the east" which implies that a sea (the west sea) bordered it on the west, and a sea (east sea) bordered it on the east. Thus we might say: A is similar to B, or perhaps A = B.
We have three equations: A is similar to B (maybe equal), B = C = D (maybe similar); and A is similar to B (maybe equal). Therefore, do we conclude A = B = C = D (one small-narrow-pass-passage), or do we separate these four descriptive terms into two entities (1. a small-narrow neck of land; and 2. a narrow pass-passage), or do we keep them as four separate entities? I would think that the answer to this question has a lot to do with our theoretical model.
Clark has made one of his rules: "Assume no duplication of place names unless the text is unambiguous on the matter. Yet has he followed his own rule in relationship to the small neck, narrow neck, narrow pass, and narrow passage? It is not very clear. The logic of the scriptures quoted above could lead to a number of things: (1) Logic could consolidate all of the terms into one isthmus; (2) Logic could make two entities, a small/narrow neck of land and a narrow pass/passage; (3) Logic could make a narrow corridor (1-1.5 day's journey in width) running north along the west coast of Zarahemla, then have it move eastward between the land northward and the land southward through a much broader and longer isthmus, and then have it run northward and parallel to the east coast. If this corridor was referred to both as a "narrow passage" and a "narrow neck," then my narrow neck (passage) would not be an isthmus, it would be a travel corridor through an isthmus. It would also be a consolidation of terms; or (4) Logic could make 4 or more separate geographical entities. Thus we see that the interpretation of the terms "small neck," narrow neck," "narrow passage," and "narrow pass," is not a simple task.
Since I can be biased in this section, I will start by assuming a Mesoamerican setting. Much has been written in the way of interpretation concerning this verse. Many maps have taken this verse to mean the total distance "from the east (sea) to the west sea. However, the verse does not say that. It says from the east (not east sea). By referring to the Mesoamerican map, we see that to those travelers trying to go along the Pacific coastal plain of Guatemala northward towards Mexico City, there is a rugged set of mountains that block travel along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Indeed, from ancient Jaredite (Olmec) times until the present, it seems that most all traffic going from the Pacific coast of Guatemala, when confronted with these rugged mountains, moved instead through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on relatively flat ground and thus moved toward the Atlantic coast and the Veracruz area in its course northward. The dilemma that Mormon might have been trying to explain here is that Bountiful and Desolation had a boundary line separating the two lands ("north" of the line was Desolation and "south" of the line was Bountiful). This boundary line might have been located within this ancient travel corridor or "small neck of land" (verse 32). Now this "small neck" apparently separated (or connected) the total "land northward" from the total "land southward". Could the day and a half's journey or the small neck of land be a description of the width of the coastal travel corridor from the Pacific Coast through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]