The Biggest News Stories Of 2025

February 14, 2025 4

Google Maps and Google Earth changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America

Source: Anadolu / Getty

Updated Feb. 11, 2025, 9:00 a.m.

Since the beginning of 2025, the United States has experienced a series of significant events across political, legal, and social spheres.

Most recently, the body of water that Americans used to call the Gulf of Mexico is now showing up as the Gulf of America on Google Maps—for users in the US, at least.

The name change comes after an executive order from President Donald Trump, who officially renamed the area. Google, which typically updates place names based on official government sources, confirmed the switch.

“If you’re in the US, you’ll see ‘Gulf of America.’ If you’re in Mexico, it’ll still say ‘Gulf of Mexico.’ And if you’re somewhere else, you’ll probably see both,” Google explained in a statement on Monday.

This isn’t the only name Trump has changed. Last month, he also ordered the name of Mount McKinley—formerly renamed Denali by President Barack Obama in 2015—be switched back. While Google announced it would make that update too, as of Tuesday, it hadn’t been reflected on the map.

Trump’s executive order described the changes as a way to “honor American greatness.” It also took aim at Obama’s decision to rename McKinley, calling it “an insult to President McKinley’s legacy.” The order even compared McKinley to Trump, pointing out that he “championed tariffs” and was assassinated “in an attack on our Nation’s values and success.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already started updating charts and data to reflect the name changes. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard is also rolling out the new “Gulf of America” name in its official records and communications.

From politics to weather, keep scrolling for some of the major news stories we have witnessed in 2025.

Written by: weboss2022

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