Texas (, locally ; Spanish : Texas or Tejas, pronounced [ˈtexas] (listen)) is the second largest state in the United States by area (after Alaska ) and population (after California ). Located in the South Central region, Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast.
Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the U.S., while San Antonio is the second - most populous in the state and seventh largest in the U.S. Dallas – Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, respectively. Other major cities include Austin, the second - most populous state capital in the U.S., and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the "Lone Star State" for its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star " can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal. The origin of Texas's name is from the word taysha, which means " friends " in the Caddo language.Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U.S. Southern and Southwestern regions. Although Texas is popularly associated with the U.S. southwestern deserts, less than 10% of Texas's land area is desert. Most of the population centers are in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.
