Lake Ontario or Lake America? For Google Maps, it depends

Google Maps will change the name of the easternmost Great Lake from Lake Ontario to Lake America – at least for some users.

Local perspective:

In a blog post, Google explained that people in the United States will see the body of water called "Lake America," while those in Canada will see it designated as "Lake Ontario." For everyone else in the world, both names will appear with the "Ontario" name taking the top slot with the "America" one below it in parentheses.

Big picture view:

The Mountain View, California, company stated the switch, as well as the different names for different users, follows Google Maps’ policy of following official government sources, and, for people in the U.S., that is the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Once GNIS made the switch, Maps followed its lead. 

What they're saying:

"These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now," the blog post said.

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The backstory:

Google’s actions with this latest renaming of a major body of water reflect what the company did last year after President Donald Trump signed the order for the "Gulf of Mexico" to be designated as the "Gulf of America." Once the GNIS made that change, Google Maps implemented the same solution of using different names based on where the user was.

Dig deeper:

At that time, Google explained that Maps determines a user’s country location based on multiple factors, such as whether the device runs iOS or Android, the SIM, the network it is on, and the locale. On the website, users can select their region in its Search setting or in the device’s location setting.

The other side:

Not every mapping program is taking the same approach as Google, however. MapQuest stated that it intends to keep the same name for everyone. In a Facebook post, the Denver-based company shared a picture of the lake labeled "Lake Ontario" and wrote, "We’re not changing it."