The word actually comes from Old English, derived from a version of Greco-Latin. It made its way to old Mexico, where it it beleived settlers moving north brought the term with them and used it to describe the large green needled trees they discovered on their way. It can loosely be translated into "expansive plain or vista".
The word Ponderosa is defined as the name which is used to refer to a species of pine trees. The Ponderosa pine trees gave their name to the Ponderosa Ranch. The Ponderosa Ranch was used as the set for a television show which was called Bonanza, which was aired in the 1960's.
Ponderosa Ranch was later turned into an amusement park. It was located near the shores of Lake Tahoe in the state of Nevada in the United States of America. The Ponderosa Ranch amusement park, which covered a large surface area of about 600, 000 acres, was in operation for a period of 36 years that is between the year 1968 and the year 2004.
The ranch backed up to the Sierra Nevada range of mountains and had a large ranch house in the centre of it. It was believed to have been built by Ben Cartwright, who moved in from the east coast of the United States of America with his two sons, Adam and Hoss.
