74th Hunger Games arena

The arena of the 74th Hunger Games.

The 74th Hunger Games arena is where the 74th Hunger Games took place. This arena was enormous, and it would take a tribute several days to walk from one end to the other. Following the abolition of the Hunger Games, this and all other arenas were destroyed and replaced with memorials.

Terrain

The Cornucopia in The Hunger Games film.

The tributes were launched on their pedestals in a ring around the Cornucopia, which sat in the center of an open plain of hard packed dirt. The land mines under each tribute's starting plate were deactivated after a sixty-second count, and the District 3 male later dug up, moved, and reactivated them to guard the Career Tributes' food supply.

The Cornucopia in The Hunger Games: Illustrated Edition.

Across the Cornucopia from Katniss Everdeen, there was a steep downward slope into a field of tall grass and grain. To her right was a lake, and to her left and behind her was a forest, sloping downwards further in. Even deeper into that forest, there was a larger variety of trees, a pond, some isolated pools of water, and a marshy area. The Careers made their camp beside the lake, and once the supplies were boobytrapped, they piled them up about thirty yards away. There was also a copse, concealed by low, dense bushes, where Katniss and Rue were able to surveil the Careers.

A map of the arena in the Control Room.

Katniss traversed a stream several times, eventually leading into rocky terrain, where she found Peeta Mellark camouflaged into the muddy bank. They made their camp in a cave alongside the stream for the remainder of the Games. According to a map shown in The Hunger Games film, the lake appeared to sit in the north, and a river curved around from the arena's eastern edge, encompassed by a forest of evergreens.

Food and water sources

There was a great deal of ordinary wildlife that tributes could hunt or ensnare for meat, if they had the right skills and weapons or tools. For example, Katniss was able to set snares with wire from her backpack. Tributes could also forage for edible plants. Thresh likely used the field of grain as a source of food, and there were many berry bushes in the forest; some were edible, but some held poisonous nightlock berries, which killed Foxface.

For water, tributes could turn to the lake, the arena's one major stream, a pond, or isolated pools of water; however, in the interest of safety, these sources had to be disinfected with iodine before drinking.

Muttations

A tracker jacker nest.

Tracker jacker nests posed a threat in the trees; these wasps tracked victims far from their nests, and their venom was highly hallucinogenic, proving fatal in high concentrations. Mockingjays also nested high up, though they were harmless songbirds.

A wolf mutt in The Hunger Games film

Later, in order to drive Katniss, Peeta, and Cato together at the Cornucopia, the Gamemakers unleashed wolf mutts made to represent each of the dead tributes. Katniss recognized them by their eyes, which were remarkably human— so much so that Peeta wondered whether they were the tributes' actual eyes. Each wolf mutt wore a collar with the number of the tribute's district. They could balance on their hind legs, jump very high, and had four-inch, razor-sharp claws. The mutts were also able to gesture to one another like humans would. In the film, they did not resemble the tributes or wolves; instead, they were large, bulky dogs with sparse fur, short muzzles, and powerful jaws, running on all fours.

Trivia

• Most arena scenes for The Hunger Games (film) were shot in DuPont State Forest in North Carolina.
  • After the fire, the Careers caught up with Katniss at Bridal Veil Falls, and she later reunited with Peeta at Triple Falls.
• The Cornucopia scenes were filmed at North Fork Reservoir in North Carolina. This is near Pisgah National Forest, which stood in for the woods outside District 12.