‘Gulf of America’ comes to Google Maps
Los Angeles (Tidingstrue): The body of water formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico in the US is now listed as Gulf of America for US-based users of Google Maps.
The change comes after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to rename the region. Google had previously said it has a longstanding practice of changing names when government sources are updated.
“People using Maps in the US will see ‘America Gulf’, and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ Everyone else will see both names,” it said in a statement on Monday.
Google said last month that it would also change the name of Mount McKinley, the country’s highest peak, to Denali, following Trump’s order. Former President Barack Obama renamed the Alaskan landmark to Denali in 2015, a nod to the region’s indigenous population. But the change had not been made on Google Maps until Tuesday.
Both changes stem from an executive action Trump signed shortly after taking office, saying the changes “honor American greatness.”
The order criticized Obama’s decision to rename McKinley, calling it “an insult to President McKinley’s life, his accomplishments, and his sacrifice.” Drawing parallels with Trump, the order said McKinley “supported tariffs” and was assassinated “by attacking our Nation’s values and our success.”
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also issued a notice Monday about the geographic name changes.
“Please note that the FAA is in the process of updating our data and charts to reflect the name changes from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of Mexico and from Denali to Mount McKinley,” the agency said.
The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station is responsible for patrolling the nation’s coastal waters. The Coast Guard has also begun incorporating the new name change of America Bay in its public notices.
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