The Scorch is a prominent location in the Maze Runner Trilogy, mentioned in the first and last books, and being the main setting of The Scorch Trials.
The Scorch is a very dangerous place inhabited with Cranks, located between the two tropics.
Overview
The Scorch is the given name for what was originally Earth's equator. It is the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. When solar flares ravaged the planet, it was destroyed, leaving a burnt, cobbled landscape, and dead husks of the architecture that once thrived.
The Scorch, as shown in the film
The Scorch is mainly a barren desert, with red, rocky terrain, and natural land formations, some of which are still fertile. The landscape is dotted by small craters caused by the devastating lightning storms that are a common occurrence in the area. Abandoned Cities still stand, albeit heavily charred from the Sun; some showing signs of civil use after the Flares and before the virus. The cities in the Scorch are now predominately used either as Crank Palaces, or as the place they are taken to after their mental state progresses past the Gone, or complete insanity.
Importance
In The Maze Runner, the Scorch is mentioned at the very end as the focus of the sun's devastation.
The Scorch is the main setting in The Scorch Trials. In the Scorch, Thomas and the fellow Gladers have to survive a journey through the Crank infested Wasteland. Several Gladers die in the lighting storms. Thomas meets Brenda and Jorge. Thomas interacts with Teresa. Several Gladers die battling Bulb Monsters. The surviving party escapes to the berg at the end of the trial.