The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers 607 square miles of North Central Florida. It is located three miles east of Ocala and 16 miles southeast of Gainesville. The Ocala National Forest, established in 1908, is the oldest national forest east of the Mississippi River and the southernmost national forest in the continental U.S. The word Ocala is thought to be a derivative of a Timucuan term meaning "fair land" or "big hammock".