APPENDIX ONLY — NOT INCLUDED IN OFFICIAL SCORECARD TOTALS. This category is provided for reference and transparency. Because Sorenson developed these criteria within and for the Mesoamerican paradigm, they inherently favor that model. The scorecard's official total remains 81 items (324 points) across Categories A-L. Category M is shelved as a supplementary appendix.
This category captures geographic features identified by John L. Sorenson across three major works — The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book (FARMS, 1992), Mormon's Map (FARMS, 2000), and Mormon's Codex: An Ancient American Book (Neal A. Maxwell Institute, 2013) — that are textually grounded, geographically testable, and discriminating across models, but were not independently scored in Categories A-L. These six items emerged from a systematic gap analysis comparing Sorenson's 100+ criteria against the scorecard's existing 80 items.
Scoring uses the same 0-4 qualitative scale as all other categories. Sorenson developed these criteria primarily to support a Mesoamerican correlation; scores reflect how each geography matches the textual criteria regardless of which model Sorenson had in mind.
For this category, the two Malay variants are scored separately (3a: Wiang Sa, 3b: Tanah Merah), consistent with Category L.
The text describes catastrophic natural phenomena occurring over approximately three hours: cities sinking beneath the sea (3 Nephi 9:4, 6-7), cities buried by earth (9:5, 8), three hours of "thick darkness" so dense it could be felt (8:19-22), mountains rising where valleys had been (8:10), fires (8:8, 14), and tempests (8:6). Geologists have identified this description as consistent with a seismic-volcanic event: subduction earthquake producing subsidence and tsunami, volcanic eruption producing ash darkness, and associated phenomena. See Kowallis, "In the Thirty and Fourth Year" (BYU Studies, 1997-98).
What it tests: Does the proposed geography lie in an active seismic/volcanic zone capable of producing the specific combination of phenomena described in 3 Nephi 8-9?
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 4 | The Cocos Plate subducts beneath the Caribbean and North American plates along the Middle America Trench. Southern Mexico and Guatemala sit in one of the world's most active seismic-volcanic zones. Frequent major earthquakes, active stratovolcanoes (Fuego, Pacaya, Popocatepetl), and Pacific coast tsunami exposure. Sorenson's Codex (ch. 7, correspondence [G]) cites the submerged ruins at Samabaj in Lake Atitlan — a city that sank beneath rising waters ca. 2,000 years ago — as a direct parallel to 3 Nephi 9:7. All five categories of 3 Nephi phenomena are achievable: subsidence (earthquake), burial (landslide/liquefaction), darkness (volcanic ash), mountain formation (tectonic uplift), and fires (volcanic). This is the strongest seismic-volcanic match of any model. |
| Heartland | 0 | The Great Lakes / Ohio-Mississippi Valley region is stable continental interior on the North American craton. The New Madrid Seismic Zone produced major earthquakes in 1811-1812, but these are rare exceptions with return periods of centuries. No volcanic activity of any kind exists in the region. The three hours of darkness from volcanic ash is physically impossible here. Most 3 Nephi phenomena cannot be produced by the available geology. |
| Malay (Wiang Sa) | 1 | The Malay Peninsula lies on the stable interior of the Eurasian Plate. The Andaman-Sunda subduction zone is offshore to the west, producing the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, but the peninsula experiences only moderate transmitted shaking. No active or recent volcanoes exist on the peninsula. Tsunami inundation is possible (demonstrated in 2004), but ash darkness, mountain formation, and volcanic fires are not. Score 1: one phenomenon (tsunami/subsidence) is achievable; the rest are not. |
| Malay (Tanah Merah) | 1 | Same tectonic setting as Wiang Sa. The peninsula lacks volcanism entirely. Kelantan on the east coast is even more shielded from the Andaman subduction zone than the west coast. |
| Baja | 2 | Baja sits on the Pacific-North American plate boundary (San Andreas transform system). Seismicity is high with frequent large earthquakes. However, the fault system is primarily strike-slip, not subduction, and there is no active volcanism in the peninsula. Earthquakes and subsidence are achievable; ash darkness and volcanic fires are not. Score 2: strong seismicity but missing the volcanic component that explains the full range of 3 Nephi phenomena. |
| Panama | 3 | The Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American and Caribbean plates. Panama and Colombia have moderate-to-high seismicity, active volcanoes (Baru in Panama, Ruiz in Colombia), and tsunami exposure on both coasts. Most 3 Nephi phenomena are achievable. Volcanism is less prolific than Mesoamerica's, and the volcanic arc is more distant from the proposed theater of action, so score 3 rather than 4. |
| Mexican Highland | 4 | The Mexican Highland model's action centers on central Mexico (Oaxaca to Puebla), directly within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The same Cocos Plate subduction drives both seismicity and volcanism. Active volcanoes include Popocatepetl (ongoing activity), Colima, and Iztaccihuatl. Major earthquakes are frequent. All 3 Nephi phenomena are achievable. Score 4: identical tectonic setting to the Mesoamerican model. |
| South India | 1 | Sri Lanka and South India sit on the Indian Plate, far from any subduction zone. No active volcanoes exist anywhere in Sri Lanka or peninsular India. The Deccan Traps are 66 million years old. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami demonstrated catastrophic coastal vulnerability (over 30,000 killed in Sri Lanka alone), confirming that cities-sinking-into-the-sea is achievable. But the complete absence of volcanism means ash darkness, volcanic fires, and rapid mountain formation are not geologically possible. Score 1: tsunami risk is real, but the majority of 3 Nephi phenomena cannot occur here. |
Alma 22:32 states the land southward "was nearly surrounded by water." 2 Nephi 10:20 says "we are upon an isle of the sea." Sorenson's Codex (note 28) compares this to how Yucatan was anciently "considered an island, since on three sides it is surrounded by the sea." This criterion tests the geometric shape of the proposed land southward: is it peninsular or island-like, with water on three or more sides?
What it tests: Is the proposed land southward geometrically peninsular, with water dominating its perimeter?
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 2 | The land southward (Guatemala/Chiapas) is flanked by the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, but it is a wide continental mass. Nobody looking at a map of Guatemala would call it "nearly surrounded by water" or "an isle of the sea." The Yucatan Peninsula to the northeast is genuinely peninsular, but it is not Sorenson's proposed land southward. Score 2: water on two sides, but not a peninsular feel. |
| Heartland | 0 | The proposed land southward (eastern US south of the Great Lakes) is continental interior. Not surrounded by water in any meaningful sense. |
| Malay (Wiang Sa) | 4 | The Malay Peninsula south of the Kra Isthmus is a textbook peninsula — elongated, water on three sides (Andaman Sea/Strait of Malacca on the west, Gulf of Thailand/South China Sea on the east, open sea to the south). "Nearly surrounded by water" describes it precisely. |
| Malay (Tanah Merah) | 4 | Same peninsula, same assessment. |
| Baja | 4 | The Baja Peninsula is dramatically peninsular: over 1,200 km long, flanked by the Pacific on the west and the Sea of Cortez on the east, connected to mainland Mexico only at its northern tip. "Nearly surrounded by water" is an accurate description. |
| Panama | 2 | If South America is the land southward, it is a continent flanked by two oceans but far too large to feel "nearly surrounded by water." If the land southward is a smaller region (e.g., Colombia/Ecuador), it is coastal on one or two sides but not peninsular. |
| Mexican Highland | 1 | The proposed land southward is Mesoamerica within a continental framework. Water on two sides (Pacific, Gulf) but the territory is wide and continental. Not peninsular. |
| South India | 4 | Sri Lanka is an island — water on all sides. This exceeds "nearly surrounded by water"; it IS surrounded by water. The phrase "we are upon an isle of the sea" (2 Nephi 10:20) describes Sri Lanka literally. If the Nephites lived on Sri Lanka with Adam's Bridge as their connection to the mainland, they would naturally perceive themselves as living on an island. This is arguably the strongest possible match for this criterion. |
Helaman 3:5-11 describes the land northward as having been deforested by prior inhabitants (attributed to the Jaredites): "the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement" (v. 7) because "there was not much timber upon the face of the land" (v. 5-6). Timber was "sent forth" from the land southward (v. 10). See Sorenson's Codex, correspondences [A] and [C]; Source Book features 4.1, 4.11.
What it tests: Does the proposed land northward show evidence of (a) historical large-scale deforestation and (b) cement or stone building traditions in the relevant time period (~600 BC - 400 AD)?
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 4 | The land northward (isthmian zone and beyond) was Olmec territory. Archaeological evidence documents massive deforestation during the Olmec-to-Classic transition. The later Maya of the lowlands are infamous for deforestation leading to societal collapse. Cement construction is well-attested: Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, and numerous Maya sites used lime-based cement extensively. This is one of Sorenson's strongest Mesoamerican correspondences. |
| Heartland | 1 | The eastern US (land northward) was densely forested. Mound-builder cultures used earth, not cement. No significant cement or stone building traditions in the relevant period. Minimal evidence of large-scale prehistoric deforestation. |
| Malay (Wiang Sa) | 1 | Mainland SE Asia north of the Kra (land northward) was densely forested tropical rainforest. Mon and Khmer civilizations used laterite and stone (Angkor), but these date primarily to the 9th-13th centuries AD, well after the BOM period. Earlier Dvaravati culture used brick, which is closer, but evidence for BOM-period cement construction is thin. No documented large-scale deforestation in the 600 BC-400 AD window. |
| Malay (Tanah Merah) | 1 | Same. The land northward is the same region. |
| Baja | 0 | Mainland Mexico (land northward) at the latitude of Baja's connection is Sonoran desert — arid, not deforested. No cement building traditions in the indigenous cultures of northwestern Mexico during the relevant period. |
| Panama | 1 | Central America (land northward) was tropical forest. Some stone construction exists in lower Central America (e.g., Guayabo in Costa Rica), but large-scale deforestation and cement traditions are not well-attested for the BOM period. |
| Mexican Highland | 4 | Same Mesoamerican evidence applies. Teotihuacan (which IS the land northward for this model) is famous for cement/concrete construction. The Valley of Mexico shows evidence of deforestation from intensive habitation. |
| South India | 3 | South India (the land northward) has strong evidence for stone and cement construction during the BOM period. Sangam-era Tamil architecture (300 BC-300 AD) used fired brick, lime mortar, and stone extensively. The Amaravathi stupa (2nd century BC onward), Nagarjunakonda, and early Pallava rock-cut temples demonstrate sophisticated masonry and cementing techniques. For deforestation: the Deccan plateau and Tamil plains were progressively cleared for rice cultivation and settlement during the Sangam period. Score 3: strong cement/stone evidence; moderate deforestation evidence. |