Google Maps will show 'Lake America' in the U.S. after official name change
Google: Lake Ontario/Lake America name change in the U.S. will appear in Maps
Following a formal update to the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Google Maps will reflect the new name "Lake America" for Lake Ontario within the United States. Canadian users will continue to see "Lake Ontario," while users elsewhere will see both names. This rollout aligns with Google's long-standing policy for international bodies of water with country-specific names and begins now.
Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see 'Lake America,' those in Canada will continue to see 'Lake Ontario,' and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names.
- seemaze
MapQuest is not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need right now:
- nicbou
I am Canadian. It is and it will stay Lake Ontario.
I am mad at Google for a lot of things, but this is not one of them. A map should represent the current reality. Google Maps defaults to the user’s local reality, which seems reasonable to me.
I worked at a mapping company and we had similar setups for contested borders. You would get the map that your government accepts. It was not the company’s prerogative to weigh in on those issues.
Remember that if Google Maps has to weigh in on obvious nonsense, it will also need to weigh in on far trickier issues, and at their scale, it might affect the outcome. This sort of legal neutrality seems like a better line of conduct to me.
- brandon272
Canadian companies and government websites that use embedded Google Maps are displaying “Lake America”. Not good.
- cosmicgadget
We need a constitutional amendment codifying the existence independent agencies like the Federal Reserve, CFPB, social security administration, and USGS.
I wish Google and others weren't telling the emperor how regal his clothes look but it seems reasonable to remain synced with the USGS.
- rpeden
This gave me the shove I needed to cancel some longstanding Google subscriptions.
So...thanks, Google, I guess?
- 1718627440
I don't see the point of this rename. Why don't you also rename every city to city of America, and every road to American road?
- pfannkuchen
I don’t really care what the lake is called, but can we have some creativity, or at a bare minimum consistency? Gulf of America at least makes sense as a name swap, as it previously shared a name with a country and it still does after the change. Shouldn’t this at least be Lake New York?
- skeledrew
This is news to me. Did carrot top order up another name change because Canada didn't roll over for him? :D