Politics · India Bureau
Trump Administration Seeks to Rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America'
US President Donald Trump has requested that Apple change the name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' on its maps application, according to his administration's interior chief. The request marks an unusual intervention in geographical nomenclature by the American government.
LSN India ·
The US administration's interior department chief announced on Monday that President Trump has asked the technology giant Apple to rename Lake Ontario, one of North America's Great Lakes, as 'Lake America' on its digital mapping platform.
Lake Ontario, which spans approximately 7,340 square kilometers and borders both the United States and Canada, is the smallest of the five Great Lakes by surface area. The water body has maintained its historical name, derived from the Haudenosaunee word meaning 'great lake', for centuries.
The request represents an unconventional government intervention into private sector mapping services and geographical naming conventions. Apple Maps serves millions of users across North America and globally, making any name change a significant decision for the company.
The proposal comes as part of broader policy discussions within the Trump administration regarding American geography and territorial representation. It remains unclear whether Apple has responded to or will comply with the request, or how the change might be implemented across different jurisdictions given that the lake is shared with Canada.
Geographical names are typically governed by established international standards and regional authorities rather than unilateral government directives, adding complexity to any potential implementation of such a change.