Physical features determine direction of flowThe topography of the land directs and controls the course of rivers. Thus the relative positions of physical features such as wilderness and upland locations can help in identifying the direction of flow. The following are the geographical conditions and accompanying scriptural references that support a logical procedure for determining a westward or, even more specifically, a southwest direction of flow for the river Sidon. The contribution of each step is essential, even if some steps appear rather basic.
a) The river Sidon flows to the seaAfter two battles between the Nephites and Lamanites, the bodies of the slain were cast into the waters of Sidon and their bones were eventually carried “to depths of the sea” (Alma 3:3; 44:22). As we have noted, there are two dominate seas in the Book of Mormon geography where the river Sidon in the land of Zarahemla could have emptied: the sea west or the sea east. We would expect the river’s direction of flow to be somewhat perpendicular to either sea (Alma 22:27, 32; 50:11; see also, Casting the dead into the waters of Sidon, below).
b) A watershed divide is requiredSomewhere in the area surrounding the river Sidon a watershed divide is required, because of the need for upland areas as water sources, coupled with the necessity that the river ultimately empties into only one sea. This divide would extend along the highest elevations of the uplands. A watershed divide is the same as a continental divide, forcing water to flow to one of the two major seas in the Book of Mormon account: the sea west or the sea east. All major Book of Mormon lands, including the land of Zarahemla, share the same sea on the west and the same sea on the east (see our topic article, “From the Sea West to the Sea East”: The Orientation of the Book of Mormon Lands to the Sea). With a sea to the west and a sea to the east, this watershed divide would trend north and south through the center of not only the land of Zarahemla but all the Book of Mormon lands. The river Sidon would flow to the west or east of this divide.
c) The city of Zarahemla is in the center of the landThe record states that the “capital city which was the city of Zarahemla” was in the “center of the land” (Hel. 1:27). This interior location would also place the city of Zarahemla within the center of the four wilderness areas (see below).
d) The river Sidon flows by the land of ZarahemlaThe position of the river Sidon relative to the land of Zarahemla is mentioned by Mormon in his account of the battle on the top of hill Amnihu. He states the “the Amlicites came upon the hill Amnihu, which was east of the river Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla” (Alma 2:15). Because the river Sidon flows to the sea, at that segment of the river’s course, “by the land of Zarahemla,” the river Sidon would be above sea level.
e) The river Sidon flows on the east of the city of ZarahemlaWhen Alma journeyed to Gideon from the city of Zarahemla, he “went over upon the east of the river Sidon, into the valley of Gideon, there having been a city built, which was called the city of Gideon, which was in the valley called Gideon” (Alma 6:7). This would indicate the river Sidon flows on the east of the city of Zarahemla, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Gideon (see Alma 17:1).
f) The land of Zarahemla is surrounded by wilderness areas on all four sidesThere are numerous references indicating the land of Zarahemla was surrounded on all sides by wilderness areas. The “wild” in “wilderness” refers to wild animals, and the Book of Mormon account says, “the wilderness was infested by wild and ravenous beasts” which inhabited the upland areas (Alma 2:37). These wilderness areas provided strongholds and secret hiding places for the Gadianton “robbers who infested the mountains and the wilderness” (Hel. 11:31).
From these wilderness strongholds the Gadianton robbers invaded the Nephite lands to plunder and destroy (see Third Nephi, chapters 1–6). The four wilderness regions are named for their compass directions: a “north wilderness” (Alma 2:36–37; 22:29); an “east wilderness” (Alma 25:5, 8; 50:7, 9, 11; 62:34); a “south wilderness” (Alma 16:6–7; 31:3; 62:34); and a “west wilderness” (Alma 2:36; 8:3; 22:28; 43:27; 52:22). These four compass directions are relative to the city and land of Zarahemla.
There are some 15 references indicating one journeys “down to the land of Zarahemla” when traveling along access routes from the surrounding wilderness areas (Omni 1:13; Alma 27:5; 51:11; 53:10, 12; 56:25; 57:15–16, 28, 30; 62:7; Hel. 1:15, 17; 4:5; 6:4). This “down” positioning supports the concept of the city of Zarahemla—in the center of the land—being located within the lowland drainage basin of the river Sidon, surrounded by higher wilderness areas. One or more of the four wilderness areas bordering the land of Zarahemla would be upland areas, and therefore, potential watersheds for the river Sidon. g) Natural water flow directionsCombining the implications of the Book of Mormon references describing the physical setting of both the land of Zarahemla and the river Sidon yields the schematic map shown below. Note a north-south watershed divide would be required somewhere on the map. The four potential water courses are shown on the schematic map. The river Sidon, however, could flow downstream along the course of only one of the four general water routes or gaps to reach a sea, drawing its water source from one or more of the wilderness areas. The Book of Mormon record mentions only one river in the land of Zarahemla, not multiple rivers, and it is the flow direction of this one river, the river Sidon, we are attempting to determine.
h) Connecting the wilderness areasWe now have a foundation for placing additional topographic details on our schematic map. These essential terrain refinements—connecting upland areas between the wilderness areas—will assist in defining a plausible location and flow direction for the river Sidon. This supportive geographical information is drawn from numerous scripture references describing military movements and travel routes and their relationship to these four prominent wilderness areas.
As we have noted, the river Sidon as a single waterway can only flow to the sea along one of the four gaps between these wilderness areas—northwest, northeast, southeast or southwest. But which one? The Book of Mormon account provides some helpful terrain descriptions, which narrow the four choices to only one direction: Northwest—The north and west wilderness areas appear to be connected by a land-link of some elevation that creates a continuous wilderness which was “west and north,” with a single name, the “wilderness of Hermounts” (Alma 2:36–37). During a fierce conflict in this northwest area, “many died in the wilderness of their wounds, and were devoured by those beasts and also the vultures of the air; and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth” (Alma 2:38; 16:11). There is no mention of a river for depositing the bones, unlike earlier conflicts of this same war in the southwest, where the dead were cast into the “waters of Sidon” (Alma 2:34; 3:3; compare, Alma 44:21–22). Northeast—The north and east wilderness areas appear to merge at an upland pass which served as the travel route from the central land of Zarahemla over to “the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful” (Alma 27:22). The land of Jershon was northeast of Zarahemla and the seven references mentioning travel between these two lands all use the phrase, “over into the land of Jershon” (Alma 30:19; 35:1–2, 6, 8, 13; 43:25). A travel route that is “over into” another location would require, by definition, a higher elevation such as a pass. Southeast—The east and south wilderness areas also appear to be connected. The record indicates the city of Moroni was situated on the seashore between these two wilderness areas. The account mentions in this same area, “the Lamanites were encircled about in the borders by the wilderness on the south, and in the borders by the wilderness on the east,” with no lowland escape route in between (Alma 62:34). All this implies an encircling upland area of some elevation between the east and south wilderness. We should note the south wilderness is the northern end of the “narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west” (Alma 22:27; see also, Omni 1:13; Alma 22:31; 31:3; 50:7, 9). Southwest—We are not aware of any references in the Book of Mormon indicating a higher elevation terrain connection between the south and west wilderness.
These three connecting links (northwest, northeast and southeast) would create a nearly continuous circle of upland wilderness—with varying elevations—starting on the west and extending clockwise on the north, east and south. The only terrain break in this upland wilderness ring would be on the southwest, and a southwest-flowing course through this lowland gap would allow the river Sidon to reach the sea. This southwest direction would position the river’s mouth, emptying into the sea west, on the western coastal route leading directly into the river Sidon basin and the land of Zarahemla that was followed by most groups traveling north from the land of Nephi through the narrow strip of wilderness (see our topic article, The Narrow Strip of Wilderness: Spatial Features, Orientation and Recorded Journeys).
Updated: Thursday, 13 January 2011
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Geography
The River Sidon
Mormon's Placement
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