The word Ocala is thought to be a derivative of a Timucuan Indian term meaning fair land or big hammock. The lush Ocala National Forest, near Ocala, Florida, lives up to its name: Towering palms, large live oaks, and scrubby sand pines dominate the forest's scrub oak ecosystem. The Ocala's sand pine scrub ecosystem is the world's largest continuous forest of its type. Between the river boundaries of this forest lie central highlands, springs and hundreds of lakes and ponds.
