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.

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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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Profile: International Entertainment