District 12 in Appalachia

I just recently completed a series I was reading purely for my entertainmeant: The Hunger Games. It's a popular young adult trilogy by Suzzane Collins that's quickly gaining popularity as the release of the first movie nears. To quickly sum up the plot, The Hunger Games revolves around the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, who lives in District 12, one of the 13 districts that make up the nation of Panem. Panem is the aftermath of our generations; supposedly we destroy ourselves in the future and from the meager remains of North America rose a communistic, violent government known as the Captiol. The Capitol controls the districts, and each district is responsible for a certain material, such as fish, livestock, lumber, electronics, etc. District 12 is responsible for coal.

I never thought much about this until my mother, who also read the series, mentioned how District 12 is mostly likely in somewhere in Appalachia due to its job of coal mining and mention of the mountains. And though it was also necessary for the plot, it is amusing how Disctrict 12 also happens to be the poorest district, always made fun of, given the least attention, and has its inhabitants living in extreme poverty. Finally, I found a map comfirming what my mother guessed:

Therefore, District 12 is located smack in West Virginia. Of course I don't know how official this map is, but nevertheless, I find it great to have these new bragging rights to anyone who is an extreme fan of the series. Collins knew what she was doing, so this wasn't mere coincidence, but I love how she kept the typical Appalachian setting for a book that takes place probably several hundred years from now.

Taryn