Google has confirmed that Google Maps will soon rename the Gulf of Mexico and Denali mountain in Alaska as the “Gulf of America” and “Mount McKinley” in line with changes implemented by the Trump Administration, but users in the rest of the world may see two names for these locations.
On January 20, the Trump Administration issued an executive order that would see Denali, the highest peak in North America, located in Alaska, renamed to “Mount McKinley.” Meanwhile, the Gulf of Mexico will become the “Gulf of America.”
In a statement on Twitter/X, Google confirmed that it will comply with the order as a part of its “longstanding” practice on the matter. Google says that location names in Maps are based on official government sources, which would come from the GNIS in the United States. When “Mount McKinley” and “Gulf of America” are updated in the GNIS, they’ll also be updated in Google Maps.
However, this won’t apply to all regions.
In other countries where the location has a name designated by the government, that name is shown instead. In countries where that location doesn’t have a designated name, both applicable names will be shown. Google says this is “another longstanding practice.”
These changes have not yet applied, but Google says the names will change “quickly” after the GNIS is updated.
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