There was an old legend of sorts that that the inside of the Earth is not molten rock but a tropical place that can be accessed at the north or south poles. Inside this place there are believed to be strange creatures and an advanced civilization of people.

This sounds like a possible explanantion for the Island especially judging by the end of last night's episode. Any thoughts?

http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/holearth.html

Well i think your theory is kinda bunk considering that they were flying in the pacific, and even the coordinates show they are nowhere near the poles, i dont see how the plane could have traveled to anywere near the north or south pole.

magnetic north and magnetic south are different than the gold places we think of as the north and south poles, so this may be closer to what s/he's thinking, especially with all of the magnetism crap the show has been expounding on.

though, i'm not sure WHERE the magnetic poles are (i didn't pay THAT much attention in physics), they are probably much closer to cold areas and you are probably right about the plane not travelling anywhere near it. but i'm pretty sure that they are moving all of the time....

Magnetic north and south aren't exactly in the center of the arctic/antarctic areas; however, they aren't outside the arctic/antarctic circles. Both poles "wander" a bit also. That's why you have to know what's called magnetic declination at anytime you're trying to navigate with a magnetic compass. Maps have to be drawn to be oriented to fixed poles locations and since compasses orient to magnetic poles you have to convert compass bearings using the currently valid declination (correction) factor in order to plot a route on a map.

__________________
Things fall apart, the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

--Lines 2-6, "The Second Coming" by Wm. Butler Yeats

Good point Demoner. I was just passing along some speculations. It could be that the plane went through some sort of hole in the earth (other than at the poles) but it would be tough to explain how Desmond got there. Can't wait to see how this plays out.

I'm betting the site is simply one with electromagnetic and geological properties that lend itself well to detecting electromagnetic emissions.