January 28, 2025
4 I will read the smallest
Is Trump just ordering a new name for Denari and Mexico Bay?
Geographists explain how the place names of maps such as Mexico and Denari are determined.

The morning light of Mt. Denari in Denari National Park.
William Watson/Getty Image
The next essay has been reprinted with permission This conversation is an online publication that covers the latest research.
President Donald Trump’s presidential order has been renamed Denari, the highest peak in Denari, Mexico and Alaska. For some people, such changes may seem more important than the major issues facing the country, but the United States has a formal process to rename the location. The process is taken seriously.
Usually, the official agreement is used by the government that people are not confused. In the United States, the place name is standardized by the US Committee on the Geographic Name, which is part of the US geological survey, which is in charge of creating maps.
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Trump asks the Board of Geographic Names, “Respecting President and Patriotic Americans,” and changes the policy and procedure to reflect it.
Usually, changing the name of the location starts locally. State or county people propose a name change and gather support. The process of each state is different.
How to change the place name
Minnesota recently changed the name of the big lake in Minneapolis to BDE Macasca. According to the Minneapolis Park Committee, “the lake name of the lake passed in oral history for many years.”
The Board of Directors voted to change the name, and received the request from the county committee. When the county agreed, the request was sent to the Minnesota Natural Resources Bureau and became the formula of Minnesota. Later, Minnesota sent requests to the committee with geographical names.
It is a lot of clerical processing for a very minor thing, but people are passionate about the name of the place. It took 40 years to change the name of Denari from the name established in McKinley in the late 19th century.
Alaska demanded a name change in 1975, but the Geographic Board of Directors did not take action. President of the Ohio State Congress -President William McKinley was from Ohio -opposed to requesting the name of the mountain for many years, and the Board did not act on these demands.

3D rendering of the terrain seabed map map of Mexico Bay.
Frank Lamb Spot/Getty Image
The president will appoint the secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The secretary will appoint a board of directors under the geographical name in cooperation with the head of the related organizations. The current committee’s policy is that “opinions from state geographic names, authorities, land management agencies, local governments, and tribal governments are actively pursued.”
In 2015, President Barak Obama was nominated as a new leader of the Ministry of Home Affairs Sally Jewel. Just as President Obama traveled to Alaska in late August 2015, Jewel is based on the law that the Board does not act based on the proposal of “rational” amount, and that the Secretary of Interior can change the name. I declared the change formula. time.
“The change in this name recognizes the sacred status of Denari for many Alaska indigenous people,” said Jewel. “The name Denari has been used in Alaska since 1975, but more importantly, the mountains are known as Denari for generations. We have our own respect for this place. We are officially renamed the Denari of the mountain, acknowledging the tradition of Alaska and the strong support of the Alaska people.
If someone opposes the name change, they can ask the court to control whether the name change has been made legally. Returning to BDE MAKA SKA, some people took the State Natural Resource Bureau to court, opposed to changing the name from Lake Calhorn. Eventually, the Minnesota Supreme Court has decided that the name has been changed correctly.
Two U.S. Senate in Alaska and the well -known state are strongly opposed to Trump’s reform.
How to not change the place name
However, changing the name of the Mexico Bay is another type of case because it renamed the geographical location of the United States.
The bay is not in the coastal territory, and the first 12 miles from the coast are considered part of the country, but the rest is international waters.
The Geographic Board of Directors may change the name to the American Bay on the official US map, but there is no international board in charge of the place name. Each country decides what place to call. And there is no official way for the United States to change the name to another country.
The United States may be able to formally ask other countries to change their names, or even impose sanctions on untouched countries.
If the name is officially changed in the United States, the government will use new names on official documents, signboards, and maps. For all the people and companies in the world that create maps, we usually use the official name. However, if they believe that a specific name is more widely recognized, there is nothing to force them.
On January 24, 2025, the US Department of Affairs issued a statement on the name change.
“According to President Donald J. Trump’s recent presidential ordinance, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that it will be restored to the name of the United States’s great heritage, and has already worked.
“As the president instructed, the Mexican Bay is currently officially known as the American Bay, and the highest peak in North America is again in charge of the name of the Mount Macchin Lee Mount. Interior is to reflect these changes. , Working quickly to update the official federal naming law of the geographical name information system, is immediately effective.
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