The End of The World Found in the Pacific

The End of The World Found in the Pacific

LONDON, November 19/PRNewswire/ -- A small island nation in the Pacific Ocean has been officially identified
today as the end of the world by a panel of experts commissioned by Disney to
celebrate the DVD launch of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071119/282153-a

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071119/282153-b

The discovery of Kiribati, a former British colony, follows a six month
project that saw a panel of leading explorers and cartographers embark on a
quest to identify the remotest geographical location on the globe.

Kiribati is more than 14 hours by plane and over 2,500 miles from the
nearest land mass and was one of several locations short listed by the panel.
It was chosen because of its extreme isolation, unusual location and
unpredictable weather conditions. Furthermore, volcanoes and earthquakes
often swallow up the islands and create huge seas making it an incredibly
treacherous place for seafarers passing through the region.

Lead panellist and world renowned explorer Tom Avery explains: "Having
been to the top and bottom of the world, Disney approached me to help locate
the very remotest places on the planet. We identified a number of different
locations but to me it is the Pacific islands of Kiribati that are truly at
the end of the world." He continues: "As the only nation on earth that
straddles the equator and borders the International Date Line Kiribati is the
first place in the world to see the sun rise. Although the skies are often
perfect blue, typhoons and monstrous seas can erupt from nowhere catching
unwary mariners by surprise."

Kiribati was once part of the British Empire, having been first sighted
by British ships in the late 18th Century, but has been independent since
1979. It comprises of 33 atolls dispersed over 1,351,000 square miles and has
an estimated population (2005) of 105,432. With a shortage of natural
resources due to poor soil mineral content the islanders rely on Copra and
fish as their leading exports.

Chairman of the Society of Cartographers Steve Chilton, another member of
the expert panel added: "There is no doubt to me that Kiribati really is the
last place on Earth. It's an incredibly remote spot, thousands of miles from
its nearest neighbours, Australia and Hawaii."

He added: "Islands in that part of the Pacific Ocean regularly disappear
from the face of the earth. Most recently (in 2005) the island of Tebua
Tarawa vanished under the sea never to be seen again. The continual outward
pressures of the tectonic plates of the Pacific Rim produce many earthquakes
and volcanoes on the Pacific seaboard, and also result in a vacuum effect
occurring in this area of the central Pacific Ocean - swallowing many islands
(and ships) in the process - truly making it World's End."

In addition to Kiribati a number of other remote locations across the
globe were also identified by the panel. In the West is the Bermuda Triangle,
where famed for its paranormal forces, many ships and aircraft have meet
their end without so much as leaving a trace. To the South is Cape Horn a
dangerous gateway to treacherous seas at the southern most tip of the
American continent. It has become the graveyard to many mariners with its
giant waves, numerous icebergs and vicious currents. Amongst the most remote
and harshest of them all is the Magnetic North Pole. It has claimed the lives
of countless explorers who have sought to take on its sub zero temperatures
and some of the most extreme weather conditions anywhere in the world.

Disney commented: "As the locations in Pirates of the Caribbean: At
World's End are fictitious we set ourselves the challenge of finding the real
World's End. With its blend of beauty and danger Kiribati is just the kind of
destination that Captain Jack and his band of pirates would have visited. A
destination too remote or perilous for the navy to give chase, it's an ideal
location for resting weary men or burying treasure."

The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End DVD goes on general release
on Monday 19th November 2007.

For further information, visuals or to arrange interview with panellists
please contact nathank@talkpr.com / +44(0)207-543-4670 /+44(0)7766977318

Source: Disney

For further information, visuals or to arrange interview with panellists please contact nathank@talkpr.com / +44(0)207-543-4670 /+44(0)7766977318

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