Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' joining Google

Apple is joining Google successful taking the plunge into arguable waters.

On Tuesday, Apple Maps changed the sanction of Lake Ontario to "Lake America." The move follows President Donald Trump's caller executive order, which he issued amid a waste and acquisition warfare pinch Canada. Earlier Tuesday afternoon, the reservoir was still branded Lake Ontario connected the representation itself, but immoderate American users could only spot "Lake America" arsenic an action erstwhile searching for the assemblage of water.

Google Maps, Apple Maps' main rival, announced connected August 29 that it had renamed 1 of the 5 Great Lakes successful its strategy to "Lake America." Google's change, which mostly affects US-based users, has sparked a backlash online.

MapQuest has knowledgeable renewed interest successful defying the Trump administration's wishes, going truthful acold arsenic to create a template that lets users telephone the assemblage of h2o immoderate they wish.

Google has said that its naming reflects "name changes successful charismatic authorities sources." On Google Maps, US-based users spot Lake America. In Canada, users spot Lake Ontario. And successful the remainder of the world, users spot Lake Ontario pinch Lake America successful parentheses.

Both Google and Apple antecedently renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" aft Trump ordered the alteration successful January 2025.

Following Trump's executive order, the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) formally changed the sanction of Lake Ontario to "Lake America."

Name calling

Trump's bid only applies to the national government. Private companies, including Apple and Google, individual states, and different countries are free to take their ain course.

When Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico, governors starring the states that separator the Gulf, each of which are Republicans, followed suit. This time, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has said her authorities will proceed to mention to the assemblage of h2o arsenic Lake Ontario.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney scoffed astatine the conception that the US could rename the lake.

"We cognize that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their overseas policies, their nationalist monuments, their hydronyms," Carney wrote connected X. "Canadians besides cognize that naming reality intends calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always."

The US Geological Survey, portion of the Interior Department, maintains the accusation strategy connected behalf of the US Board of Geographic Names, a national assemblage whose roots day to the 1890s and is responsible for ensuring the azygous usage of names for geographic features crossed the national government.

The usage of the sanction "Lake Ontario" dates backmost complete 300 years. According to the City of Toronto, the largest metropolis perched connected the lake, the sanction comes from either the Wendat (Huron) connection Ontarí:io, meaning "great lake," aliases the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) connection Skanadario, meaning "beautiful water."

In the US, it was referenced by the Second Continental Congress successful 1776, a week aft the colonies formally declared their independence. Lake Ontario is besides mentioned by sanction in the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the war, successful which King George III's representatives formally recognized the recently independent United States.