In 3 Nephi 8:11-12 we find, in the description of the destruction which occurred in the America's at the time of the Savior's death, that while there "was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward," "there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward." Ben Olsen, who has some geological experience in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, notes that if, as Joseph Allen suggests, the Mexico City area is that part of the land northward where the most severe damage occurred, this would make good geological sense, since the city was built on old lake sediments, which would likely respond violently to earthquake shock waves, caused by violent volcanic activity or release of pressure along a fault system. [Ben L. Olsen, Some Earthly Treasures of the Book of Mormon, p. 53, Unpublished]
3 Nephi 8:12 There was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward ([Illustration]): Evening light touches a massive 17,295-foot volcano, Iztaccihuatl, just southeast of Mexico City. The 17,845-foot Popocateptl rises just to the south, with 18,851-foot Citlaltepetl being the highest volcano in the region to the east at Orizaba. Scores of volcanoes rim these lands, making the region unstable with frequent earthquakes and eruptions. [Scot and Maurine Proctor, Light from the Dust, p. 165]
“There Was a More Great and Terrible Destruction in the Land Northward”
In 3 Nephi 8:12 we find that "there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward." Joseph Allen notes that the archaeological ruins of Cuicuilco, located near the University of Mexico in Mexico City, were covered by a lava flow dating to about A.D. 34. The largest pyramid in the world, located at Cholula in the State of Puebla, Mexico, was also destroyed at the time of the great destruction at the death of Christ. The ancient Mexicans attributed the destruction of the Cholula pyramids to Quetzalcoatl. Regarding the destruction of the ruins of Cholula, Ixtlilxochitl said:
A great destruction and devastation took place, which is referred to as the third period of the world. At that time, the great building and tower of Cholula, which was so famous and marvelous, was destroyed. It was like a second tower of Babel that these people had built, with virtually the same idea in mind. It was destroyed by the wind. (Ixtlilxochitl: 42)
The pyramid was subsequently rebuilt and dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. In referring to the destruction, Ixtlilxochitl provides us with two or three destruction dates. In some places, he reports that the destruction took place (1) a few days after Quetzalcoatl left; (2) a few years after the birth of Christ, and (3) the first few days of the year in which Christ was crucified. The latter, as mentioned earlier, correlates with both the Mixtec calendar and the Book of Mormon.
The ruins of Cuicuilco and Cholula are located in the area of Mexico corresponding to the Land Northward. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 230]
3 Nephi 8:12 There was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward ([Illustration]): Volcanic activity has affected many areas of Central America, including this ash-fall deposit in the Tuxtla Mountains in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Many of the flows in the region date to around A.D. 34. Back-country explorations of sites in Mesoamerica reveal human bones and pottery at the eroded base of 30- and 40-foot-thick lava flows. [Scot and Maurine Proctor, Light from the Dust, p. 164]