Ether 6:62 [14:26] And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders of the sea-shore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days,
Ether 6:63 [14:27] And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz, that the people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr;
Ether 6:64 [14:27] And they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the inhabitants before them, all they that would not join them; and they pitched their tents in the valley of Corihor.
Ether 6:65 [14:28] And Coriantumr pitched his tents in the valley of Shurr.
Ether 6:66 [14:28] Now the valley of Shurr was near the hill Comnor; wherefore Coriantumr did gather his armies together, upon the hill Comnor, and did sound a trumpet unto the armies of Shiz, to invite them forth to battle.
Ether 6:67 [14:29] And it came to pass that they came forth, but were driven again; and they came the second time; and they were driven again the second time.
Ether 6:68 [14:29] And it came to pass that they came again the third time, and the battle became exceeding sore.
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Ether 6:78 [15:6] And the people of Shiz were stirred up to anger against the people of Coriantumr; wherefore the people of Shiz did give battle unto the people of Coriantumr.
Ether 6:79 [15:7] And when Coriantumr saw that he was about to fall, he fled again before the people of Shiz.
Ether 6:80 [15:8] And it came to pass that he came to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all; wherefore, when they came to these waters, they pitched their tents; and Shiz also pitched his tents near unto them; and therefore on the morrow, they did come to battle.
Ether 6:81 And it came to pass that they fought an exceeding sore battle, in which Coriantumr was wounded again, and he fainted with the loss of blood.
Ether 6:82 And it came to pass that the armies of Coriantumr did press upon the armies of Shiz, that they beat them, that they caused them to flee before them; and they did flee southward, and did pitch their tents in a place which was called Ogath.
Ether 6:83 And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord which were sacred.
The armies started in the vicinity of the narrow neck. The hill Ramah is north of the narrow neck. So, the location that is described here occurs north of the narrow neck and the waters of Ripliancum are further north than the hill Ramah (which is near the entrance to the valley leading into the land northward. The following map outlines the key locations and their releative locations to each other that need to occur to match the description in the verses.
Intersecting Valleys (Internal Model)
The key aspect of these verses is that two armies in a running battle stopped in two different valleys and then could continue to fight, disengage, fight, disengage, etc. The only way this can happen is if the two valleys intersect each other or if the pass between the headwaters of two rivers is easy to cross. Remember, one army is following another. The army of Coriantumr had to march through the valley of Corihor to get to the valley of Shurr. After fighting in the two valleys, they marched to the largest body of water in the area.
Intersecting Valleys (Travel Map)
There is only one narrow neck location where this geography exists in the world - the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. The Santo Domingo River is the only river that cuts a valley through the mountains and it intersects another valley. This valley is the easiest way to get from the Bay of Campeche (sea east) to Lago Texcoco. Lago Texcoco is surrounded by a ring of volcanoes and mountains. The southern entry was one of the ways to reach the lake. Note: Lago Texcoco was drained in 1608 and the area is now Mexico City.
Intersecting Valleys (Mesoamerica)
Intersecting Valleys (Closeup)
