The Department of the Interior announced on Friday that the Gulf of Mexico shall now be officially known as the Gulf of America. In other changes, Alaska’s summit is now to be called Denali, rather than Mount McKinley. These are among scores of executive actions President Donald Trump ordered within a few weeks into his presidency.
The Interior Department announced, “At the President’s direction, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be referred to as the Gulf of America, and North America’s highest peak will once again be called Mount McKinley.”
Historically, Denali was referred to as Mount McKinley and was named for the former President William McKinley, serving from 1897 until assassinated in 1901. The name, Denali–which in translation means “tall” among the Koyukon Indigenous community–was recovered in 1975 upon the request of the state of Alaska.
The Department of the Interior said the name changes reflect its commitment to honoring the nation’s heritage and ensuring that future generations know the legacies of the nation’s historical figures. In his inaugural address, Trump hailed McKinley as a great president whose economic policies “made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent” and celebrated him as “a great businessman.”.
Among the notable territorial expansions during McKinley’s tenure were the additions of Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. While the U.S. Geological Survey has the discretion to change the official designations, the international acceptance of the name, Gulf of America, is not predictable. Mexico, the other country sharing the coastline of the Gulf, for a long time referred to it as the Gulf of Mexico for maritime purposes, as it has been known for centuries.
In a jocular response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recently proposed that North America-which includes the US-be renamed “Mexican America,” after an older name on maps that depicted the region.
