It is generally acknowledged by climatologists that the “most choice” areas of the world’s surface for human habitation and agriculture are found in locations possessing Mediterranean-type climates. A Mediterranean climate (Dry Summer Subtropical or Csa and Csb in the Köppen climate classification) is differentiated by a moderate annual temperature range and a distinct wet winter season and a distinct dry summer season. These two moderate temperature seasons, with alternating wet and dry periods, allow different types of agriculture over the course of the entire year and, therefore, support an expanded variety of cultivated crops and domesticated animals, and a significant number of wild animals and native plants.

The Mediterranean climate occurs in only a few spots of the earth’s surface. All are located in the mid-latitudes and then only on the west side of continents because of the earth’s atmospheric circulation of high pressure cells that control the temperature and precipitation patterns of Mediterranean climates. The largest area of Mediterranean climate is located around its namesake the Mediterranean Sea, the ancestral home of the Book of Mormon peoples, and an area they knew first-hand. The large water area of the Mediterranean Sea influences the surrounding land areas and increases the extent of Mediterranean climate in southern Europe and parts of northern Africa. The southern half of the state of California and northern Baja California in Mexico are the only other areas of Mediterranean climate in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere there is a small area of Mediterranean climate centered on the city of Santiago, Chile, and in limited areas around the cities of Perth and Adelaide, Australia, and on the southern tip of South Africa. Numerous statements and words throughout the Book of Mormon text appear to favor a middle-latitude setting, especially a Mediterranean climate. This parallel between the Biblical lands and the Book of Mormon lands provides an important premise and solution for several geographical features and challenges noted in the Book of Mormon text. Both lands are declared as “promised lands,” with the Biblical land described as “flowing with milk and honey.”

Prodigious amounts, and an exceptional variety of agricultural products are produced in these relatively small Mediterranean climate areas during all months of the year, including the dry and wet seasons. Substantial amounts of these products are exported around the world; and, understandably, the population levels are often rather high in Mediterranean climates, because of their exceptional agricultural output. For example, if necessary, California’s agricultural areas could produce enough food to support the entire population of the United States and Canada, and, not unexpectedly, the population of California exceeds any other state and is even greater than that of Canada. The small area of southern California, centered on Los Angeles and San Diego, and the adjacent area of northern Baja California, currently have a combined population exceeding 23 million. Mediterranean climates, because of their moderate temperatures and limited rainfall, are often the most-visited tourist destinations in the world. It should be noted that the larger transitional climate areas, both north and south of Mediterranean climates, also can be excellent for settlement and agricultural production, especially with sufficient water from dependable sources.

Both North America and South America contain numerous regions with good to tolerable climate areas, but it is not difficult to make the case that the “most choice above all other lands” are those regions with Mediterranean climates and the regions adjacent, both a little north and a little south, of the Mediterranean climates.

In addition to the climate, in order to be designated as a “choice land,” the environmental conditions considered to be “choice” need to occur within a distance of a one-day journey (some 20 miles) or, at most, a journey of three days for lesser activities. This is crucial to prevent the spoilage of food and to reduce the time and labor to transport items long distances, especially under the constraints faced by the Book of Mormon people some 2,000 years ago or our own ancestors even in the 1800s. It is not a significant blessing to merely live on a continent that possesses choice areas unless the actual, small 20-mile portion of the continent where one lives is “choice above all other lands.” Most areas of North America are livable under some conditions, such as our home in Cardston, Alberta, but do not qualify as “choice above all other lands” under any set of conditions, especially those outlined below, even though they are part of a blessed continent. Today Cardston has become a tolerable and blessed land because of plentiful natural gas for heating, modern food preserving methods and high speed transportation that allows food to be imported from all corners of the globe.