Google has announced that it will align its map names with the U.S. government's official listings for the Gulf of Mexico and Denali. The company stated that any changes to the names will be made in accordance with updates from the government.
President Donald Trump had previously ordered the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mount McKinley to its former name, Mt. McKinley. Google emphasized that it follows a practice of updating names based on official government sources.
Google Maps will be updated promptly to reflect any changes in the Geographic Names Information System, a database containing over 1 million geographic features in the U.S. Once the updates are made in the official government sources, Google Maps will show Mount McKinley and Gulf of America.
The mountain in question, Denali, is the preferred name for Alaska Natives. Former President Barack Obama had ordered the name change in 2015 from its previous designation of 'McKinley,' which was named after President William McKinley in the late 19th century by a gold prospector.
While the Associated Press will acknowledge the name Gulf of America, it will continue to refer to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico, a name it has held for 400 years. However, AP will use the name Mount McKinley instead of Denali, as the area falls solely within the United States, and President Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.
