Google said he would update his cards to change the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America” for people using the search engine across the United States, as soon as the federal government updates its own official sources.
The technology giant has promised to make a similar change for the highest peak in North America, returning the name of Mount Denali in Alaska at Mont McKinley. The news has become a subject of conversation Monday evening from a Talk-show circuit incredulous at the end of the evening has Forums for Volunteer Peplexed Cartographers.
“Well, this is a fun development,” wrote a community cartography moderator, connecting an article on Google’s decision.
Change drew attention in part because it came quickly after a clear signal from an American president, while name changes are generally a long bureaucratic process – but it is not the first time that Google Maps changes space names and global borders for different users in different places, especially during geopolitical disputes.
Geographers say that the United States’s release this week recalls that place names can bring real political weight.
“Most of the time, people are not paying attention to the labels. They are still there,” said Matthew Zook, professor of geography at the University of Kentucky. “This is just a moment when we can really see how the cards and how the labels are powerful things.”
Place names have changed all over the world
The interior department of the Trump administration said last Friday He had officially changed the name From the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and Mont Denali to Mount McKinley.
Google says it will change the name of the place in Google Maps once the titles are officially updated in the American system of geographic names.
In the United States, people will see “Gulf of America”, while people in Mexico will always see the old name. Everyone, including people in Canada, will see the two names reflected.
The company has made similar changes based on location over the years, depending on where you are:
- India and Pakistan have been fighting for the mountainous cashmere region for decades. People in India seek the Himalayan outpost on Google Maps see a solid circular border which indicates that the area is under Indian control. Elsewhere, users see a dotted line that reflects the dispute.
- Similarly, Argentina and the United Kingdom have debated the property of the Falkland Islands since 1982. Most users who are looking for the archipelago on Google Maps will see it labeled as “Falkland Islands” with “Islas Malvinas” in supports , but users in Great Britain Don are not I do not see the Spanish name.
- The body of water between Japan and the Korean peninsula is widely known as the sea of Japan, but it is listed as The Eastern Sea On the South Korean version of Google Maps.
- The navigable track separating Iran and Saudi Arabia appears as the Persian Gulf or the Persian Gulf, depending on where you are.
The geographers also underlined the different spelling for the capital of Ukraine. It is either Kyiv, in accordance with the Ukranian spelling, or kyiv, as it is written in Russia.
“Whenever you start to see many names change for places in history, this often signals political changes or power struggles in society,” said Reuben Rose-Redwood, professor of geography at university from Victoria.
Google Maps is the dominant force in the online map space, both in terms of size and influence. Since its launch in 2005, the program has transformed the way billions of people in hundreds of countries have sailed in their daily life – from planning their travel to the choice of a place for dinner.
The program was about to bring back $ 11 billion in 2023, according to an estimate of Morgan Stanley.
The former first lady and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton laughed as American president Donald Trump announced during his inaugural speech that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico in the Gulf of America.
Zook says that this time, Google could be considered obeying a decree of the American president. But he also says that in the past, name changes have been made taking into account cash flows.
“In the end, advertising pays Google’s bills,” Zook said in an interview on Tuesday. “Anything that could perhaps cause problems, ensure that their product is not used by any place, they will try to avoid – they essentially try to adapt to the desires and preferences of the population they serve. “
The technological company has donated $ 1 million to the United States to the inaugural fund for US President Donald Trump, as well as other companies such as Amazon and Meta.
CEO Sundar Pichai attended the inauguration on January 20, like X and the owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos from Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg de Meta.
Disputes can last decades
The denomination debate for the highest peak in North America has come for a century. He is alternated by McKinley, after former American president William McKinley, in “Denali”, a word of language from Koyukon which reflects the pure height of the summit.
The Obama administration recently restored the name of Denali in 2015, a change that was reflected by Google Maps in a few days.
Alaska legislators said they wanted Keep the name Denali.
Last week, the Republican senator from Alaska, Dan Sullivan, said that his preference was for “the name of the patriotic people and Fort Athabascan gave this great mountain thousands of years ago: Denali. We will continue the Discussions with the Trump administration on this subject. “
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month suggested jokingly in North America renowned “Mexican America”, a name used on a first map in the region.
The newly inaugurated American president, Donald Trump, signed a series of decrees during his first day in power. The CBC News Washington correspondent Alex Panetta breaks down what you need to know.
Other countries do not have to comply with name changes in the United States. Rose-Redwood, professor of geography in Victoria, says that the cartography industry should not rush to adopt a change that may not stay.
“Trump’s age will not last forever,” he said.
“I encourage companies and cartographers to critically think about how they make cards and to know whether or not they accompany the political currents of the time.”
