Google has announced that it will rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” in Google Maps. The announcement came as President Donald Trump updated the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) last week. The US President has also renamed the highest mountain in the country.
Google Maps will display the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America” for users in the US
Earlier today, Google posted multiple tweets on X to confirm the upcoming change to Google Maps. In one of the tweets, Google mentioned, “We’ve received a few questions about naming within Google Maps. We have a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.”
To remind you, Google Maps is home to some of the disputed international borders and locations around the globe. To avoid any controversy, the Google Maps app or web interface usually shows the names of such locations based on where you are searching. Speaking of the Gulf of Mexico, Google is doing the same.
The company says that the name “Gulf of America” will only be visible to Google Maps users in the United States. For those living in Mexico, Google Maps will continue to show the name “Gulf of Mexico.” What if you are living in neither of these countries? Well, Google Maps will show both names when you search for them outside of Mexico and the US.
Trump renames the “Denali” to the “Mount McKinley”
That’s not the only renaming of locations coming to Google Maps. To catch you up, back in September 2015, Barack Obama, the then-president of the United States, renamed “Mount McKinley” to the “Denali.” As it was an official order, Google updated Google Maps accordingly.
After almost nine years, President Trump is changing the name “Denali” back to “Mount McKinley.” Therefore, Google Maps will display the new name for the mountain peak. For the uninitiated, the mountain peak was named after former President William McKinley. It is located in the Alaska Range, with two of its summits standing tall in the Denali Fault.
Google Maps will display
