The “Narrow Neck of Land” is a very small topographic feature that is identified with the crossing place from the land Bountiful on the southeast into the land of Desolation/Teancum in the northwest. It is the historical crossing place of the Samalá River in the piedmont region and it is located between Santa Cruz Muluá (Mulek) and San Sebastián (Lib/Shem).

     The term “narrow neck of land” is used only once and it was a Jaredite reference (Ether 10:20). All other references mention a “narrow pass which led by the sea” (Alma 50:34), a “narrow pass which led into the land northward” (Alma 52:9), a “narrow neck which led into the land northward” (Alma 63:5), a “narrow passage which led into the land southward” (Mormon 2:29), and a “narrow pass which led into the land southward” (Mormon 3:5). It was sufficiently narrow that it could be protected by one army and was described by Mormon as a “point” (Alma 52:9). The narrow neck of land was possibly a natural land bridge or a man-made bridge that spanned the spot where the sea (large river) divided the lands of Desolation and Bountiful. After the earthquakes at the time of the Crucifixion, it may have been nothing more than a narrows in the river or a ford.

     When the Spaniards arrived there was a narrow wooden bridge spanning the Samalá River at this location. It appears that the horses and cannons with all the troops crossed on the bridge, but only after a very bloody battle. There were many squadrons positioned to prevent the Spaniards from crossing the bridge. One horse was killed, one soldier was wounded in the face, and several had flesh wounds. Two of the soldiers died of their wounds and a great many of the natives were killed.

     The search for the narrow neck of land suggests the need for an important paradigm shift. The relevant cities were identified by name first and then it was required to try to explain what the “narrow neck of land” between them actually was. The cities indicated the location of the “narrow neck of land” rather than the “narrow neck of land” indicating the location of the cities. The latter approach has not worked for the past 174 years. It is not an isthmus. This lone misconception has prevented the discovery of Mormon’s lands and cities all the intervening years. In this case the obvious answer is incorrect.

     The Sumerian dictionary does not have a word that distinguishes riverbank from seashore. A shore or a bank appears to apply to a river, lake, sea, or ocean. Thus, it appears that the term “seashore” in the Book of Mormon is a term applied to the bank of any large waterway. The Bible also refers to large rivers as seas (see Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates).

     In this regard, it is significant that the definition for the Sumerian word gú is “neck, nape, riverbank, side, edge,” and similar words. Thus, it appears that the narrow neck of land referred to in Ether 10:20 may be the riverbank along the Samalá River as it tumbles down the narrow canyon from Xelajú (Lehi, Quetzaltenango) to Retalhuleu and the Line Bountiful. The word gú is used in Sumerian and also the word gud with the same meaning. In Quiché there is an analogous word, jut’, which means “narrow.” This may be a definition of the name Gid (Alma 51:26).

   The Jaredites came from lower Mesopotamia where they had learned to harness great rivers. They did much to manage the Tigris and Euphrates for flood control and irrigation. They had a system of levees, head gates, and ditches to irrigate the flat land near the rivers. Levees are raised earth embankments or rather narrow dykes that are high enough and wide enough to control floodwater (most of the time). An excellent description of a levee is a “narrow neck of land.” This may possibly be the origin of the use of that term with respect to riverbanks and shores.

     There is another possibility that should be considered in connection with the “narrow neck of land.” Between the present-day towns of Santa Cruz Mulúa and San Sebastián, where the highway bridge crosses the Samalá River, the river is at its most narrow, lowland point. With all of the volcanic activity from the nearby Volcano Santa Maria there exists the possibility that there was at one time a natural lava bridge in this area.

     Lava flowing over a wet riverbed can create a condition where the top cap is solid, with porous sand and gravel left underneath. Initially, the water will be forced to flood over the top of the lava, but with time, a path is eroded underneath in the porous substrate, leaving a natural land bridge. This may have been the narrow neck of land they defended so fiercely (Alma 50:34; 52:9; Mormon 3:5). In this sense, the land northward would be nothing more than the coastal plains west of the Samalá River, placing the land Bountiful to the east of the river, comparable to the Old Hebrew where east is inland, north is to the left along the coast, south is to the right along the coast, and west is backward toward the sea or ocean.

     When Mormon’s troops retreated (Mormon 2:6), there were two possibilities for the “west borders by the seashore.” It may have meant the west borders of the land Bountiful near the seashore, meaning the bank of the Samalá River, which would divide the land Bountiful from the land Desolation (“where the sea divides the land”—Alma 63:5; Ether 10:20). It may also have meant the west borders of Lake Atitlán by the shore some 13 miles to the northeast of Xojolá. If Xojolá is Joshua, the west border of the land is the river Samalá.

     Note that there is a town in that area today named San Felipe, which was previously named Tak’ajal. That name means “something which pertains to the coast.” But there is no coast in the area, just the Samalá River.

     We should also keep in mind the possibility that the local topography has changed. There may have been a volcanically impounded lake in the area at some time in the past.

     Based on the cities and lands that have been identified, it appears that the Samalá River is the true west border of the greater land Bountiful. This is not in the old Hebrew sense; this “borders west” of the land “by the seashore” would be in the true west sense. Recognize that Mormon was probably writing at or near the hill Shim, which we shall see is probably 15 miles further northeast of this location.

     The Nephite armies probably went toward Bountiful and Desolation for the simple reason of food, support, population centers, and ease of travel. Travel toward Lake Atitlán is rugged, even today. Food, support, and protection are not available in that direction. Their later stands were made in the Desolation/ Teancum area on the shores of the Samalá River (“where the sea divides the land.”—Mormon 3:5; Alma 63:5; Ether 10:20.) Of course, from our perspective, it would be more correct to say “where the river divides the land” as this river became the boundary in the treaty between Mormon’s army and the Lamanites and Gadianton robbers (Mormon 2:29).

     We talk of the east coast and the west coast of the United States and there is no confusion. Our ease of communication and travel pulls us together. Mormon didn’t have that luxury. Thus, references to east and west seas, etc. must be examined more closely and from Mormon’s perspective, as much as we can possibly determine it, in order to get the proper meaning.

     No name remnants have yet been found for the “narrow neck of land,” but there is another Sumerian root that may have relevance. The Sumerian word kun means ladder, stairs, staircase, threshold, slab, and doorsill. This word might also apply to a bridge. Its two roots are base/ground plus high. The same Quiché, Cakchiquel, and Kekchi word is k’a’m which means ladder, bridge, or stairway. The Sumerian language has a second set of definitions for the same word kun that include tail, reservoir, storage basin, and outlet of a canal. These might also apply to the structure of the river in this location.