Science, Discovery, Tech and Environment · 4 September 2026
Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario to Lake America after Trump order
Exam-focused facts from the 4 September 2026 current affairs briefing.
Key facts
- Apple Maps has started renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' following an order from U.S. President Donald Trump.
- The name change applies to Apple Maps users in the United States, while Canadian users continue to see 'Lake Ontario'.
- Apple Maps users in other countries will see both 'Lake Ontario' and 'Lake America' labels.
- Google Maps had already changed the lake's name to 'Lake America' several days earlier, citing U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) policy.
- U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump reached out to Apple directly to facilitate the change.
- MapQuest refused to adopt the new name, which led to a surge in downloads for the service.
- Apple previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico to 'Gulf of America' under a similar order last year.