Texas

Texas, officially the State of Texas, is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares borders with the other US 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, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast. Its state government is currently controlled by the Republican Party, and its current governor is Greg Abbott.

Texas was originally a territory of Mexico which seceded in the Texas Revolution and was annexed by the United States at the beginning of the Mexican–American War. It also joined the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth largest in the US, while San Antonio is the second most populous in the state and seventh largest in the US. 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 US, and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico.