Tech company waiting on government to drop Mount Denali by reinstating Mount McKinley as Alaskan peak’s official name
It’s official: Google has renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America on its Maps interface.
At least for people using the app or website in the U.S.
On Monday, the tech giant announced it had changed the basin’s name, reflecting the most recent update from the country’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
In keeping with its “longstanding practices”, Google explained that what app users see will depend on their country location, which is determined by their device’s operating system, SIM, network and current location. Desktop and other web viewers are presented information based on regional search settings “or your device’s location, if you haven’t selected one.”
Everyone else will see Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
“As my Administration restores American pride in the history of American greatness, it is fitting and appropriate for our great Nation to come together and commemorate this momentous occasion,” his decree reads.
When GNIS updates its designation for North America’s highest peak, Google has said it will follow suit. However, a Google Maps query for Mount McKinley brings users directly to the Alaskan peak, which is still labelled Denali.
In an email to the National Post, a GNIS spokesperson said the modification should be “complete before the end of the time period given in the (Executive Order).”
Meanwhile, in testing other web and app-based mapping services from a Canadian address, Apple Maps users continue to see the Gulf of Mexico and a search for the new American name comes up empty.
Microsoft’s Bing Maps still shows the original title and a query for Gulf of America yields the whole of the United States as a result.
It hasn’t changed on MapQuest either, where searching for the other designation brings one to Gulf Beach Shores in southern Alabama.
The National Post has contacted all three asking if any changes to the labelling are forthcoming.
There are other locations around the world where two places have the same name on Google Maps for users from outside those countries.
For instance, the British see the Falkland Islands while Argentinians see the South American island chain as Islas Malvinas. Everyone else gets the English name first, the other in parentheses.
The same style applies to the long-disputed Persian or Arabian Gulf separating Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.