Marion County is a county located in the North Central region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,908. Its county seat is Ocala. Marion County comprises the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. It includes part of Ocala National Forest, which also extends into three other counties.
Ocala is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making it the 43rd-most populated city in Florida. Ocala is the principal city of the Ocala metropolitan area, which had a population of 375,908 in 2020.
Silver Springs is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County of northern Florida. It is the site of Silver Springs, a group of artesian springs and a historic tourist attraction that is now part of Silver Springs State Park. The community is part of the Ocala metropolitan area. It was first listed as a CDP for the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 2,844.
The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway is a protected green belt corridor, more than one and a half miles (2.4 km) wide in places, that was the former route of the proposed Cross Florida Barge Canal. It is named for the leader of the opposition to the Cross Florida Barge Canal, Marjorie Harris Carr, and was originally a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers canal project to connect the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean across Florida for barge traffic. Two sections were built, but the project was ultimately cancelled because of local opposition related to environmental concerns, including protecting the state's water supply and conservation of the Ocklawaha River Valley ecosystem, as well as national opposition for the costs being perceived as "government waste" with "limited national value". The greenway is part of the system of Florida State Parks, including the Santos Trail System, and is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The Ocklawaha Valley Railroad, originally the Ocala Northern Railroad, was a railroad running from Silver Springs Junction, Florida to Palatka, Florida, running roughly parallel to the Oklawaha River. Except for the southernmost part, from Silver Springs Junction to Silver Springs, which was leased from the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, the railroad never had any corporate relationship with larger railroad companies.
The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers 607 square miles (1,570 km2) of North Central Florida. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Ocala and 16 miles (26 km) 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". The forest is headquartered in Tallahassee, as are all three National Forests in Florida, but there are local ranger district offices located in Silver Springs and Umatilla.
The 74-mile-long (119 km) Ocklawaha River flows north from central Florida until it joins the St. Johns River near Palatka. Its name is derived from ak-lowahe, Creek for "muddy".
State Road 40 is a 91.8-mile-long (147.7 km) east–west highway across northern and east-central Florida, running from U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) in Rainbow Lakes Estates eastward through Ocala over the Ocklawaha River and through the heart of the Ocala National Forest to SR A1A in Ormond Beach. Names of the road include Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, Fort Brooks Road from Silver Springs through Astor, Butler Road in Astor, and Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach. Former sections in Ormond Beach are named "Old Tomoka Road" and "Old Tomoka Avenue."
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from the Hialeah–Miami Lakes border, a few miles northwest of Miami, to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I-75 begins its national northward journey near Miami, running along the western parts of the Miami metropolitan area before traveling westward across Alligator Alley, resuming its northward direction in Naples, running along Florida's Gulf Coast, and passing the cities of Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Venice, and Sarasota. The freeway passes through the Tampa Bay area before turning inward toward Ocala, Gainesville, and Lake City before leaving the state and entering Georgia. I-75 runs for 471 miles (758 km) in Florida, making it the longest Interstate in the state and also the longest in any state east of the Mississippi River. The Interstate's speed limit is 70 mph (110 km/h) for its entire length in Florida.
State Road 19 is a Florida State Road in Putnam, Marion, and Lake counties. It runs from Groveland to Palatka through Ocala National Forest. Along with SR 33, SR 19 provides a mostly rural north-south corridor through central Florida from Lakeland to Palatka.
U.S. Highway 27 (US 27) in Florida is a north–south United States Numbered Highway. It runs 496.352 miles (798.801 km) from the Miami metropolitan area northwest to the Tallahassee metropolitan area. Throughout the state, US 27 has been designated the Claude Pepper Memorial Highway by the Florida Legislature. It was named after long-time Florida statesperson Claude Pepper, who served in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The stretch running from Miami to South Bay was originally designated the Thomas E. Will Memorial Highway by the Florida Legislature in 1937 when that portion was known as State Road 26 (SR 26). Thomas E. Will, the founder of Okeelanta, had worked for almost 20 years to get the state to build a road from Miami to the area south of Lake Okeechobee. For most of its length in the state, US 27 is a divided highway.
U.S. Route 301 in Florida runs from the Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area northeast to the Greater Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. The road is a spur of U.S. Route 1, which it intersects in Callahan.
U.S. Route 441 (US 441) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 433 miles (697 km) from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia state line, with the overall route continuing to Tennessee in the Rocky Top area.
The Silver River is a short spring-fed river located east of Ocala in Marion County, Florida. Fed by Silver Springs, it connects the springs to the Ocklawaha River, passing through a pristine woodland environment. The river was probably named for its silvery appearance.
The Ocala StarBanner is the daily newspaper in Ocala, Florida, United States, and serves Marion County and the surrounding communities. The Ocala StarBanner has a daily circulation of about 43,000, and is the 19th-largest newspaper in the state of Florida.
Ocklawaha is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marion County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,508. The community is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Marjorie Harris Carr was an American scientist and environmental activist, well known for her conservation work in Florida. She was born in Boston and grew up in southwest Florida, where her parents taught her about native flora and fauna. After earning a Master of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1942, she went on to establish and lead several conservation efforts in the state, including co-founding the Alachua Audubon Society in 1960 and co-founding Florida Defenders of the Environment in 1969. Her work with Florida Defenders of the Environment — which continued until her death in 1997 — to preserve the Ocklawaha River Valley helped halt construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, which is now a public conservation and recreation area named in her honor in 1998. She was inducted in the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1996. She was married to herpetologist Archie Carr from 1937 until his death in 1987; they had five children.
Rodman Reservoir, or Lake Ocklawaha, is an artificial reservoir located on the Ocklawaha River in Putnam County and Marion County in north-central Florida. The reservoir, located about 15 miles southwest of Palatka, is approximately 15 miles (24 km) in length, covers 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) and is located between State Road 19 on the east and State Road 315 on the west. It is also a premier largemouth bass fishery for Northeast Florida.
State Road 464 is a short state and county road in Marion County, Florida. The road is primarily in southern Ocala, but extends outside of the city limits.
Orange Creek is a small stream in north-central and northeast Florida, that drains Orange Lake to the Ocklawaha River. Privately owned Orange Springs provides part of the water volume.
SR 40 
