Narrow Necks

The narrow neck mentioned in the Book of Mormon is one of the most discussed locations of the geography. But, how many narrow necks are there in the world? Looking specifically at the criteria that descibes the narrow neck of land, there are some major criteria needed for a world location to fit the Book of Mormon geography:

1. ALMA 13:77 [22:32]: 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.
   • Commentary: This is the basic description that there is a narrow neck of land between two major areas of the Book of Mormon lands.
2. ETHER 4:68 [10:20]: And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.
   • Commentary: This verse provides the name for the "narrow neck." The lands so far described in the Book of Ether were close to the Promised Land (in the book of Ether) that are next to the Sea West shore, so the great city would have been on the Sea West shore in the area of the narrow neck.
3. ALMA 30:6 [63:5]: And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceeding curious man, therefore he went forth, and built him an exceeding large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward.
   • Commentary: This confirms that the narrow neck has the Sea West on one side of the narrow neck.
4. ALMA 13:76 [22:32]: 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;
   • Commentary: The distance mentioned here is not the total distance across the narrow neck. Many people interpret this to describe the west sea to the east sea, but it just describes a point to the east. It is important to note that this description does NOT describe going all the way to the sea east, just to a point on the east. A similar construction is seen in Alma 22:8 [50:8]: And the land of Nephi did run in a straight course from the east sea to the west. Again, both seas are not mentioned, just a point (to the west). So, how many miles can a person travel in 1.5 days?
     1. It is very easy for a fit person to travel 40 miles in a day over unimproved trails (60 miles in a day and a half).
     2. American indian runners have been known to run 75 to 100 miles per day.
     3. Travel through jungle where no trails exist can be as low as 10 to 15 miles per day (the lower limit).
     4. The world record for a 48-hour run is 428,890 meters (266 miles), or 200 miles in a day and a half on a perfectly flat track (the upper limit).
     5. Canoe travel on flat, smooth, fast-flowing rivers can be up to 326 miles in 24 hours, but only one river meets this criteria (Yukon). Otherwise, believe it or not, travel is the same, or less, than foot travel.
     6. As a best estimate, the width of the narrow neck should be at least 15 and 200 miles across.
     7. To fit the narrow neck description, the width of the lands north and the width of the lands south of the narrow neck are wider than the narrow neck width. The narrow neck should also be in a west-to-east direction.