Google Maps has officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for users in the United States. This update comes after an executive order signed by former US President Donald Trump, which led to the formal change by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a US government database responsible for place names. Users in the United States now see the Gulf of America on Google Maps, while users in Mexico continue to see the Gulf of Mexico. For the rest of the world, both names appear side by side. The change in Google Maps was expected. Google said earlier that it had “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” The company said it would update Maps in the US after the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) made the changes. The GNIS, a database of more than 2 million physical and cultural features throughout the US and its territories, standardises geographic names for federal use.In the same X post, Google said it would also change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska to Mount McKinley, after former US President William McKinley, once it was updated in the official database in line with Trumps order. Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America, was given its name by the Indigenous Koyukon Athabascan people. The US government changed its name to Mount McKinley in 1917 in honour of the late Republican president, who was assassinated by an anarchist in 1901. Former US President Barack Obamas administration restored the mountains Indigenous name in 2015 before a presidential visit to Alaska.Trump’s executive order gave the Secretary of the Interior 30 days to implement the name changes and update the GNIS to reflect them.The post Google officially changes name of ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’ for US users after Trump’sexecutiveorder appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
