- "Well... I think it's safe to say the Maze Trials were a complete success. I wasn't expecting so many survivors, but... the more, the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. But for now, they seem to have taken the bait. It's too soon to say, but... they could be the key to everything. So let's move forward. It's time now to begin... Phase Two."
- — Ava Paige talking about Phase Two: The Scorch Trials
The Scorch was a prominent location in the The Maze Runner Series, mentioned in the first and last books, and being the main setting for The Scorch Trials.
The Scorch was a very dangerous place inhabited by Cranks, located between the two tropics, which was between the far north and the Aspen. The Scorch was believed to be in Mexico, a country in Central America that bordered The United States of America to the North, and Guatemala and Belize to the South.
Description
The Scorch was the given the name for what was originally Earth's equator. It was the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. When Sun Flares ravaged the planet, it was destroyed, leaving a burnt, cobbled landscape, and dead husks of the architecture that once thrived.
The Scorch was mainly a barren desert, with red, rocky terrain, and natural land formations, some of which were still fertile. The landscape was dotted by small craters caused by the devastating lightning storms that were a common occurrence in the area. Abandoned Cities were still standing, albeit heavily charred from the Sun; some showing signs of civil use after the Flares and before the Flares Virus. The cities in the Scorch were 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
The Maze Runner
In The Maze Runner, the Scorch was mentioned at the very end as the focus of the suns devastation.