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Google Maps changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America

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Gulf of America Google has changed the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Google Maps, but what is displayed will depend on a user's location. (Google Maps/Google)

Following the lead of the Geographic Names Information System, Google has changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on Google Maps.

Google announced two weeks ago that it would change the name of the body of water between Mexico and Florida when GNIS made the change, it would follow suit.

The label will differ depending on where a user is located.

For people in the U.S., the map will read “Gulf of America.”

Users in Mexico will see “Gulf of Mexico.”

While people everywhere else will see “Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).”

The display will be determined by your country location, determined by a phone’s operating system, your SIM, network and location when on mobile devices.

On desktop, the display will depend on the region you selected in search settings or the device’s location, Google said.

CNN reported that the change was made after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, renaming the body of water.

The order, titled “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness,” stated, ”The area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to our once burgeoning Nation and has remained an indelible part of America,” and cited its importance to trade, energy, fishing and tourism as some of the reasons for the renaming.

Google will also change Denali back to Mount McKinley Trump’s order canceled out the change made by former President Barack Obama’s executive action in 2015. As of Tuesday afternoon, Google Maps still had it listed as Denali when searching for Mount McKinley.

Trump made the change saying that Obama’s renaming the mountain as Denali, which honored the native people of the area, was “an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice.”

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard have started implementing the Gulf of America name, CNN reported.


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