Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders, including one about renaming the Gulf of Mexico. (Reuters:Carlos Barria)
Not long after being sworn in, US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order calling for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed as the Gulf of America.
He'd spoken about the idea during a press conference earlier this month and brought it up again in his inaugural address.
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"America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world," he said.
"A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America."
He wasn't kidding about the "short time from now" part.
The new president has already signed an executive order titled "Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness" requiring the Secretary of the Interior to:
"…take all appropriate actions to rename as the “Gulf of America” the US Continental Shelf area bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and extending to the seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba in the area formerly named as the Gulf of Mexico.
"The Secretary shall subsequently update the [Geographic Names Information System] to reflect the renaming of the Gulf and remove all references to the Gulf of Mexico from the GNIS, consistent with applicable law.
"The [US Board on Geographic Names] shall provide guidance to ensure all federal references to the Gulf of America, including on agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications shall reflect its renaming.
Where is it?
It's an oceanic basin connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Mexico, the US and Cuba.
The west and southern parts of the gulf are bordered by six Mexican states:
- Quintana Roo
- Tamaulipas
- Veracruz
- Tabasco
- Campeche
- Yucatan
To the north of the gulf are five American states:
- Texas
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Florida
Who owns the Gulf of Mexico?
The Gulf of Mexico doesn't belong to just one country — but the majority of it is divided up between Mexico and the US.
Here's a good visualisation from Maritime Regions.org to give you an idea of how ownership of the gulf is carved up:
The Gulf of Mexico is divided among bordering countries. (Flanders Marine Institute/MarineRegions.org)
The US has the northern part, Mexico has the south-western part and Cuba has a little slice in the south-east.
There are a bunch of treaties about the division of the Gulf of Mexico dating back decades, which the US and Mexico have ratified.
Can Trump really rename the gulf?
Yes, but only domestically.
The executive order only changes how the US refers to the basin — but that doesn't mean the rest of the world has to follow suit.
The GNIS is body that works to "standardise geographic names for federal use".
Trump starts signing executive orders
Photo shows trump holds paper signed
However, it's only an American government authority — not an international body.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is a global body that works to ensure all the world’s oceans are surveyed and charted uniformly, trying to make sure all nautical charts are the same.
And it has 100 member states, including both the US and Mexico.
Here's what the IHO says about naming disputes between countries:
It is recommended that where two or more countries share a given geographical feature (such as, for example, a bay, strait, channel or archipelago) under a different name form, they should endeavour to reach agreement on fixing a single name for the feature concerned.
If they have different official languages and cannot agree on a common name form, it is recommended that the name forms of each of the languages in question should be accepted for charts and publications unless technical reasons prevent this practice on small scale charts.
The IHO also says it should cooperate with the United Nations Conferences on Geographical Names with respect to the standardising of names.
And the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names have meeting coming up in April, so it's possible Mr Trump may have a delegate participate and launch a bid to change the name.
What does Mexico have to say?
The Mexican government isn't a fan of it.
Mr Trump started talking about the idea at a press conference on January 7, when he was promising a "golden age of America," discussing taking back control of the Panama Canal and acquiring Greenland.
"The Gulf of America — what a beautiful name," he said.
The next day, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum responded sarcastically, saying the Gulf of Mexico was a name recognised by the UN.
At her daily press conference, Ms Sheinbaum joked that North America should be renamed "América Mexicana", or "Mexican America", because a document that preceded Mexico's constitution referred to it that way.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a world map from 1661. (Reuters: Presidencia de Mexico)
But despite this, she said she expected the two countries to have a positive relationship.
"I think there will be a good relationship," Ms Sheinbaum said.
"President Trump has his way of communicating."
ABC with Wires
