The United States (also known as the United States of America, the U.S., the USA, or simply America) is a constitutional federal representative republic located on the North American continent, bordering Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Composed of fifty states and one federal district, forty-eight of the nation's states are contiguous and located on the North American continent proper, the State of Alaska is located on the northwestern most tip of Canada and the State of Hawaii is an archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.