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US President Donald Trump’s executive orders infiltrated the world of digital maps. Google announced on Monday that the online mapping platform, Google Maps, will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for users in the United States.
In addition, Google Maps will change the name of the tallest summit in North America, Mount Denali, to Mount McKinley. These changes will be reflected on the platform as soon as the US government officially carries out them.
Here is how Google is dealing with places with disputed names in the past, and how the new change will work:
What will change exactly on Google Maps?
- The name of the Gulf of Mexico will change to the Gulf of America for users inside the United States.
- Mexico Bay will remain for users inside Mexico.
- Google Maps will display the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of America to users who are not in the United States or in Mexico.
- The name Mount Denali will be changed to Mount Mckinley for Google Maps users all over the world.
How did we get here?
On the day he was inaugurated on January 20, Trump signed 26 executive requests. One of these orders is renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and Mount Denali to Mount McKinley.
The Gulf of Mexico is a water body, connected by Cuba, the eastern states in Mexico: Tamoulibas, Veracrose, Tabasco, Campchi, Yukatan and Quenetana Row; And the states on the Gulf coast of the United States: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
The snow -covered in Alaska is the highest mountain in North America at a height of 6,190 meters (20308 feet).
The Gulf of Mexico had its name about 400 years ago. In his book, he shoots the main navigation and discoveries in the English nation, which was published in 1589, the English geographical geographic Richard Hackewit “GULFE OF MEXICO”. In Mexico, the Gulf is also called its Spanish name, El Golfo De Mexico.
Trump can rename the Gulf of Mexico to its home audience, but the rest of the world does not have to change the name, as there are no international laws that decide what is the common marine area or a disputed area called globally.
Reclemented Mount Denali is more clear because it is part of the United States. Trump wants to rename Mountain Mount McKinley after former Republican William McKinley, who was president from 1897 to 1901, and he never visited Alaska.
“The longest mountain in our nation, which was called Denali for thousands of years, should last known for the legal name that Koyukon Athabascans granted in Alaska, who have brought the land from an improper time,” published on X Kurd.
The name of the mountain was officially changed to Mount McKinley in 1917. In 2015, the name was changed to Denali by former Democratic President Barack Obama.
Denali, in Kuyokan Athabascan, means “The Tall One” or “The High One”. The indigenous people in Alaska, as well as the other residents of the state, prefer Denali’s name.
When will Google Maps change?
Exact history is not yet known. Google will update the name on the map application when the United States government officially makes change.
“We have a long -term practice to apply the names changes when they are updated in the official government,” published Google on X on Monday.
In the case of the United States, the change will be reflected on the application when updating the names in the geographic names system (GNIS), an official database that the US Geological Survey (USGS) that contains names of more than a million geography sites in the United States.
It is unclear when the names will be updated on GNIS, but when Trump signed the executive order on January 20, he wanted to change the name within 30 days, which would be on February 19.
Why did Google Maps change?
“When official names differ between countries, maps users see their official local name. Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. This applies here too,” said Google in a post on Monday.
“Every difficult situation, we collect a multi -functional group of Googlers employees, including software engineers, product managers, geographic information systems specialists, policy analysts and geopolitical researchers. This process benefits from local knowledge and the experience of Google employees worldwide. “
But there are also clear economic signs that pay the decisions of companies such as Google, experts say.
Companies such as Google connects maps “to support their commercial tasks in research and advertising, and therefore the decisions they make about what must be placed in their maps will eventually be the decisions that support these goals”, Steling Quinn, Associate Professor in the Geography Department at Central Washington University, I was told The island.
He said that the Google approach is “an attempt to anger a few customers as much as possible”, either by adding allocations based on the region or by providing ambiguity either by removing the names of places or adding multiple names.
“The decisions of the maps of companies in political conflicts can depend on the economic and political authority of the parties concerned. Quinn added.
Did this happen before?
Yes, Google Maps offer different names to certain places, depending on who is looking.
Kashmir
India and Pakistan control parts of Kashmir and demand all lands of the mountainous region. In 2019, India canceled the semi-self-status of Kashmir represented by the Indian, and its incision in two regions-Jamo and Kashmir in the West and Ladgha in the East.
If you are in India, it appears that Jamo and Kashmir, as well as a portion of India on Google Maps, with a solid black line around Kashmir. If you are in another country, including Pakistan, Google Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Ladakh, define a black intermittent line.
Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf
What Iran calls the Persian Gulf is called the Arab Gulf by the Arab Nations. The water body links Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (Emirates).
If you are in Iran, Google is planning the water body as the Persian Gulf. If you are in an Arab country that has a coast on the Gulf, like Qatar, Google Maps will call it the Arabian Gulf. If you are in any other country that does not have a coast on the Gulf, then Google is planning the water body “Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)”.
The Sea of Japan or the East Sea
Japan is called the sea connected by Japan and the Korean semi -Sea of Japan, the Sea of Japan, while North Korea calls it the Sea of the East.
If you are in Japan, Google sets the Japan Sea. In South Korea, it looks like the East Sea. Outside Japan and South Korea, it appears to be “the Sea of Japan (East East Sea).”
How was people’s reaction to the last Google Maps?
The Google Maps Declaration on the upcoming changes related to the Gulf of Mexico has sparked a mixed bag of online responses. In X, while many welcomed this step, some have posted about the transformation into other mapping platforms such as Apple Maps.
When this happens, I will delete Google and use Duckducking and Apple maps.
– Uncletmumn no checkmark leving, but the blue vote (Uncletummytx) January 29, 2025
However, in November 2019, the lower parliament of the Russian parliament announced that the Apple maps will display the Crimea as part of Russia when it is seen from Russia. In 2014, Russia included Crimea in an internationally condemned step.
Outside Russia, the Crimea is characterized by the Ukrainian lands on apple maps.
Currently, on Google Maps, there is a black intermittent line between Ukraine and the Crimea, as well as between Ukraine and Russia, whether the map is displayed from Ukraine, Russia or another country.
The island contacted Apple to ask whether Apple maps will change the names of the Gulf of Mexico or Mount Denali, but it did not receive a response.
Are maps objective?
Not real.
“Many people want to deal with maps such as objective documents, but maps are the product of the culture and values of the people they produce,” said Queen, Professor of Geography.
He explained that the names of the places were always “liquid, competing and political.”
“In the end, people who use names will be the ones who decide what they are,” he said, adding that the names of the geographical sites that people use in conversations may not always be reflected in the maps produced in the institutional point of view.
“However, the widely used map like Google Maps has a lot of the ability to influence the way people look at the world.”
