Book of Mormon Geography: Melek, Ammonihah, and Noah

Melek is “on the west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness” (Alma 8:3). The double use of "west" strongly suggests it borders the west wilderness.

The city Ammonihah is northward of Melek. When Alma finished his preaching and baptizing in Melek, he “traveled three days’ journey on the north of the land of Melek; and he came to a city which was called Ammonihah” (Alma 8:6).

Ammonihah is not specifically described as being on the borders of the west wilderness, but Alma 16:2 tells of a Lamanite army that “had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah.” After destroying the city Ammonihah, the Laminates carry away some captives, retreat back into the wilderness, and then cross “the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land Manti” (Alma 16:6). This places Ammonihah along the west wilderness.

The land of Noah is mentioned only in Alma 16 and Alma 49, both times in connection with Ammonihah. In Alma 16, after the Lamanites destroyed the city of Ammonihah, they also attacked “some around the borders of Noah” (3).

In Alma 49, after their unsuccessful attempt to again destroy Ammonihah, the Lamanites “retreated into the wilderness, and took their camp and marched towards the land of Noah” (12) intending to destroy the city of Noah (13). However, the Lamanites were thwarted in their efforts because Moroni had built up the city Noah as a fortress.




These three lands could be further up the west coast of ZARAHEMLA, making it a more obvious North from Melek to Ammonihah, but the distance from Manti seems to exclude them being so far up. We don't know the exact shapes of the lands, or how much area each covered, or where their capital cities were located within them. We only have to look at a U.S. map to see that the shape of states can present interesting situations direction-wise.


Vermont is east of New York, but people in much of the state would have to travel north to get to it. Part of Idaho is west of Montana, and part of it is south. West Virginia is north of part of Virginia. Part of Michigan is west of Wisconsin, and part of it is north. These are just a few examples to illustrate that directional travel would very much depend on the location of each city in its respective state.