Google says it will take its cue from the U.S. government if it has to change the names of the Gulf of Mexico and Denali on its maps.
The tech giant revealed the reasons behind the proposed changes on social media after receiving questions from users.
Shakespeare once asked, “What’s in a name? Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?” And in the case of Denali, would a mountain by another name be as magnificent?
President Donald Trump wants to rename Denali and the Gulf of Mexico to Mount McKinley and Gulf of America, and Google said it would update its maps if it happens.
Google says it has a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.
Google will rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Denali mountain in Google Maps once a federal mapping database reflects changes ordered by the Trump
Google says it will take its cue from the U.S. government if it has to change the names of the Gulf of Mexico and Denali on its maps.
The company said Monday that it will only make changes when the government updates its official listings for the body of water and the mountain.
Apparently, the very name “America” was sort of an accident by mapmakers back in the 1500s, starting when German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller thought the two continents (North and South America) ought to be named after an obscure Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci.
Google Map users will soon notice the name changes of two historic U.S. landmarks: The Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali. As of January 27th, Google has officially announced that it will comply with an executive order issued by the 47th President during his inauguration nine days ago,
Google Maps is reclassifying the United States as a “Sensitive Country,” just like it does China, Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. The designation is reserved for countries with either strict governments or border disputes.