Google Maps Displays Lake Ontario as Lake America for US Users
Google Maps has updated its display to reflect President Donald Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to use 'Lake America' instead of 'Lake Ontario' for US users. The change, which began rolling out on Saturday, affects only US-based Google Maps users.
The update was triggered by the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) formally changing the name for Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' in the United States. This is not a new policy, but rather a continuation of Google's long-standing practice of updating Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources.
However, not all mapping services followed suit. MapQuest, a navigation service founded in 1996, refused to change its display and even launched a browser toy inviting users to rename the lake themselves.