The state has numerous nicknames, including "the Ocean State," "the Tail," "Lower California," and "the Mexican State." The state has a population of 7,891,321, placing it in the upper third of U.S. states by population, and is the third-largest Western state behind California and New Mexico. Peninsula is bordered exclusively by the state of California in the north, but also shares maritime borders with Mexico to the east, across the Gulf of California. It is also bounded to the west by the Pacific Ocean.