Located in the west south-central US, Texas is the largest of the 48 conterminous states. Texas's US rank slipped to 2nd when Alaska entered the Union in 1959.
The total area of Texas is 266,807 sq mi (691,030 sq km), of which land comprises 262,017 sq mi (678,624 sq km) and inland water 4,790 sq mi (12,406 sq km). The state's land area represents 8.8% of the US mainland and 7.4% of the nation as a whole. The state's maximum E-W extension is 801 mi (1,289 km); its extreme N-S distance is 773 mi (1,244 km).
Texas is bordered on the N by Oklahoma and Arkansas (with part of the line formed by the Red River); on the E by Arkansas and Louisiana (with part of the Louisiana line defined by the Sabine River); on the SE by the Gulf of Mexico; on the SW by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, and Chihuahua (with the line formed by the Rio Grande); and on the W by New Mexico. The state's geographic center is in McCulloch County, 15 mi (24 km) NE of Brady.
Large islands in the Gulf of Mexico belonging to Texas are Galveston, Matagorda, and Padre. The boundary length of the state totals 3,029 mi (4,875 km), including a general Gulf of Mexico coastline of 367 mi (591 km); the tidal shoreline is 3,359 mi (5,406 km).