In Alma 50:29 it says that Morianton desired to flee with his people to "the land which was northward, which was covered with large bodies of water, and take possession of the land which was northward." According to David Palmer, two questions can be posed: (1) How far northward was it?, and (2) Was it the same area (New York) where some have theorized the land of Cumorah was located? A clue to the first question is in the next verse (Alma 50:30): "And behold, they would have carried this plan into effect, (which would have been a cause to have been lamented)." The question is, Why would it have been lamentable for that group of contentious people to exile themselves by several thousand miles from the land of the Nephites? It is unlikely that they would go so far as to cut off all kinship ties. That would have been advantageous to the Nephites. The insertion by Mormon suggests that they would still have been close enough to cause shifts in the strategic balance in the area of Bountiful. Otherwise, the Nephites would have said, "Good-bye! Good riddance," instead of sending a key army to head them off at the narrow pass.
Concerning question #2: Were the bodies of water mentioned the same as those mentioned with respect to Cumorah (Mormon 6:4)? The text does not say. In a Mesoamerican setting, there are at least two possible areas this could have referred to. One was in the valley of Mexico, where there was a very large inland lake (Texcoco). The other area is a large region of lagoons forming the Papaloapan basin in Veracruz.
[David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, p. 78]
One also has to ask, Are the terms "land which was northward" and "land northward" synonymous?
Geographical [Theory Map]: Alma 50:15-24 Cities of Lehi and Morianton (24th Year)
Alma 50:25-31 [People of Morianton] Flee to the Land Northward (24th Year)