There are 13 journeys through the narrow strip of wilderness recorded in the Book of Mormon, spanning 80 years from about 200 to 120 B.C. It is difficult for a reader to mentally sort through these rather complicated travel accounts unless provided with an actual geographical context, complete with maps, routes, dates and relative locations. The three historic and contemporary north-south routes through the rugged wilderness of Baja California—west coast, central and east coast—provide the required physical and spatial settings for unraveling the relative details of these 13 Book of Mormon journeys, as recorded in the books of Omni and Mosiah.

• The more righteous Nephites migrate north from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla and join with the people of Zarahemla
• The people of Zeniff journey south, back to the land of Nephi
• Some Lamanites soon follow the Nephites and migrate north to the land of Zarahemla
• Alma and his people depart into the wilderness and settle in a land they call Helam
• King Noah and his priests retreat north into the wilderness
• Priests of king Noah return south to the land of Nephi to kidnap Lamanite daughters
• King Limhi secretly sends a search party north to find the land of Zarahemla and obtain help to free his people from bondage
• King Mosiah (the second) sends Ammon’s group south from the land of Zarahemla to inquire about the people of Zeniff in the land of Nephi
• King Limhi’s people in the land of Nephi escape north to the land of Zarahemla
• The Lamanite army pursues king Limhi’s people and becomes “lost” in the wilderness
• The “lost” Lamanite army finds the people of Amulon (priests of king Noah) hidden in the wilderness
• The Lamanite army led by Amulon travels south along an unfamiliar route and finds the people of Alma in the land of Helam
• The people of Alma escape from the land of Helam and travel north to the land of Zarahemla
• Matching the narrow strip of wilderness in Baja California to the Book of Mormon travel accounts