A Dictionary of the Book of Mormon/Desolation, Land of

by George Reynolds

DESOLATION, LAND OF. Before the time of the Nephites this region was thickly inhabited by the Jaredites. In the days of the latter people Bountiful formed its southern border. The two lands apparently joined at the Isthmus of Panama. At first, like most frontier districts, it extended indefinitely into the uninhabited regions. When other lands were colonized its boundaries became more definitely fixed. It is generally supposed to have embraced within its borders the region know to moderns as Central America. Its capital was a city of the same name, probably built in later years, as it is never mentioned but by Mormon in the account of the long series of wars in which he took so prominent a part.