Monday was the day for a big change in the world of Google cartography, at least symbolically. As promised, the company officially flipped the switch on the name change for the Gulf of Mexico in its Maps app, now labeling it the "Gulf of America" for US users to comply with an executive order from President Trump. "When official names vary between countries, Maps users see their official local name," Google said in a blog statement, per USA Today.
"Everyone in the rest of the world sees both names. That applies here, too." The paper compares the situation to that of the Sea of Japan, which South Korea refers to as the East Sea. In the US, we see both names on Google Maps. (More Gulf of America stories.)