In our spatial analysis we must not forget that the narrow strip of wilderness is a “wilderness” landscape, with all that implies. The dictionary meaning of wilderness is an “uncultivated, uninhabited and inhospitable region.” It is a land inhabited by wild animals: the “wild” in the word wilderness refers to wild animals. Wilderness in its Biblical meaning is “not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle; an uncultivated place” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). These definitions match the descriptions of the wilderness areas in the Book of Mormon. And in the major Book of Mormon lands there are wilderness areas almost everywhere, some 250 scripture references to wilderness altogether, starting with the wilderness immediately outside of Jerusalem when Lehi and his family leave their homeland (1 Ne. 2:2-6). Wilderness was encountered at the place of their first landing in the new land (1 Ne. 18:25), in the land of Nephi (2 Ne. 5:5-7), and, of course, the narrow strip of wilderness. There were four wilderness areas surrounding the land of Zarahemla (See our topic article, The Directional Flow of the River Sidon). The land of Bountiful and the land of Desolation contained wilderness areas (Alma 22:31; see also the numerous references to wilderness in verses 27-34). All the Book of Mormon cities, towns and villages had wilderness close by.

The Book of Mormon does not describe wilderness areas with jungle-like, tropical landscapes. It portrays a wilderness landscape with open vegetation such that one can see approaching armies coming for some distance, unlike thickly treed, tropical areas (Mosiah 19:6; 20:8). It is a landscape where traveling groups get lost in spite of its open vegetation (Mosiah 7:2-4; 8:8; 23:30). It is a landscape where one cannot follow the tracks of others, unlike a path through heavy tropical vegetation which leaves broken branches as obvious signposts along the exit path (Mosiah 22:11-12,16). It is a dry landscape where travelers suffer from thirst (Alma 17:5). And it is a landscape containing thickets of small trees that provide places to hide (Mosiah 18:5) and some forested areas (1 Ne. 18:5; Enos 1:3; Mosiah 18:30). These Book of Mormon references describe a Mediterranean-type landscape that is characterized by woodlands, scrublands, some forested areas at higher elevations, with areas of open, semi-arid or steppe plant communities (See “Mediterranean Climate” in Wikipedia). Hugh Nibley discusses the character and role of Book of Mormon wilderness areas, such as described above, in his article, “The Nature of Book of Mormon Society,” published in his work, An Approach to the Book of Mormon. It should be noted that both the land of Jerusalem and the Book of Mormon lands have a similar climate, topography and natural vegetation (See The Nature and Location of Mediterranean Climates and The Ecology of Planting Seeds in our main article, An Approach to the Book of Mormon Geography). It is our intent to write an extended article on the topic of wilderness in the Book of Mormon, as portrayed within the 250 scriptural references to wilderness.