Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer and soldier. Ponce de Leon was the governor of an island in the West Indies. He was bored with his job and decided that he wanted to search for gold and the Fountain of Youth. Stories claimed that anyone who drank from the fountain would become young and strong again. Gold was also said to be near the fountain. In 1513 Ponce de Leon and his men set out to find the marvelous fountain. They landed on the shore of a low,flat land. There were many palm trees, pine forests, and beautiful flowers. Ponce de Leon named this land Florida, meaning "full of flowers". Although they did not find the fountain or gold they did claim a large area of land for Spain.