According to Verneil Simmons, geologists say the Pacific coastline has been rising since the beginning of the Christian era. It is estimated by professionals in that field that the rise has been as much as a foot a century. There is historic proof of this on the west coast, dating from the days of the Spaniards:
From our observations, we infer that the whole coast is gradually rising… . We must also mention that in the past the Pacific Ocean swept much closer to Tehuantepec. In Burgoa’s time (1674) the beach was less than 12 kilometers from Tehuantepec, today it is 17 kilometers. (Matthew Wallrath, “Excavations in the Tehuantepec Region, Mexico,” p. 9. “Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series,” Vol. 57, Part 2, 1967)
[Verneil W. Simmons, Peoples, Places and Prophecies, pp. 113, 274]
Alma 63:5 Launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward ([Illustration] According to David Palmer, either one of the two inland lagoons shown on the Pacific Ocean side of the map would have been ideal launching points for such a vessel. Map#4 shows a number of the ruins which definitely date to the Nephite period located in the general area of these lagoons. The NWAF has reported many other sites without a description of their age. (Delgado, 1965) [David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, pp. 33,256-257] [See the commentary on Alma 50:33-34; Helaman 4:7; Alma 63:5; Mormon 3:5-7]
Alma 63:4-5 They departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land which was northward ([Illustration] Proposed area where the 55 BC Nephite migration traveled to get to the Land Which Was Northward. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 103]
Alma 63:5 Launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward ([Illustration] Possible ocean route of 55 BC Nephite migration. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 106]
“By the Narrow Neck Which Led into the Land Northward”
In Alma 63:5 we find some important landmarks given relative to the “narrow neck” of land. There are four phrases that are interrelated:
And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, [1] on the borders of the land Bountiful, [2] by the land Desolation, and [3] launched it forth into the west sea, [4] by the narrow neck which led into the land northward (Alma 63:5)
Phrase 1 & 2: Hagoth was “on the borders of the land Bountiful.” Maybe Mormon is again giving directions somewhat according to an X-Y axis on a graph. If Hagoth was “on the borders” which were “by the land Desolation,” then he would have been by the northern (Y-axis) border line of Bountiful which ran from east to the west because in Alma 22:30, (if we interpret it correctly) “Bountiful bordered upon the land which they called Desolation.”
Phrase 3: Hagoth launched his boat “into the west sea.” Depending on how we interpret Alma 22:32, Hagoth‘s launching site was probably within the distance of a day and a half’s journey from the coast (X-axis). [See the commentary on Alma 22:32]
In the preceding writings of Alma, most of the activity in Bountiful seems to have been located by the east sea, so we might wonder why this shipbuilding was happening on the west coast? After all, 5400 men plus women and children had supposedly found no trouble in making the trek by foot and apparently by way of the east coast if a Mesoamerican setting is assumed. If we follow John Sorenson’s model, it might have been only a day and a half‘s journey from Hagoth’s location on the west sea to link up (through the small neck of land) with those people presumably taking the east sea route. So then why is the shipping location on the west coast? One possible answer is that overland travel along the west coast might have been very difficult or impossible, and thus this effort at shipping was highlighted. Another reason could have been that an abundant supply of ship-building materials were located on the west coast. Perhaps a more thoughtful answer to the question, however, lies in the idea that shipping was going on at many points along all coasts (see Alma 63:10; Helaman 3:10). This location connected with Hagoth might have been inserted into the record because of some other reason besides identifying the location of the only shipping port of the Nephites.
Phrase 4: The phrase “by the narrow neck which led into the land northward” gives us a very different connotation to the term “narrow neck” than what was given in Alma 22:32. In Alma 22:32 the “small neck of land” was just “between the land northward and the land southward” which might be interpreted as an “isthmus” or “dividing line.” Here in Alma 63:5, one might get the feeling that the narrow neck may have constituted a travel route (maybe a major travel route), from the land southward to the land northward. If so, then the Nephite defense of the west coast (by Helaman and Antipus) seems reasonable. According to John Clark, the line from Hagoth to Bountiful would approximate the direction of the narrow neck and be running in an west--east orientation. However, if this narrow neck “led into the land northward,” would it not run in a south--north direction"?
We can make some sense of this situation by turning to a Mesoamerican setting. According to Joseph Allen, the “narrow neck which led into the land northward” could be associated with the old Kings Highway that runs along the Pacific side of Guatemala and Mexico by the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The Kings Highway then goes directly north (Sorenson’s “east”) for about 125 miles to the Gulf Coast of Mexico on the Atlantic side. Subsequent travel northward in the state of Veracruz along the Gulf coast (in “the land northward”) takes one either to a point of departure on a curving route to Mexico City or in a continuing journey along the coast northward towards the United States. In the museum at La Venta, which represents the Olmec culture, which predated the coming of Lehi, there is a large picture representing the Olmec Culture core in the state of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, with a large arrow going down the Isthmus of Tehuantepec toward the Pacific Ocean (Gulf of Tehuantepec). This major historic trade route would give meaning to the phrase “the narrow neck of land which led into the land northward.” [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]