• US President Donald signed an executive order declaring that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America on January 20.

Key facts on Gulf of Mexico:

• The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world and the largest semi-enclosed coastal sea in the Western Atlantic.

• It is an oval-shaped oceanic basin covering 1.6 million sq km, measuring approximately 1,500 km at its widest point and 4,384 m at its deepest. 

• Its eastern, northern and northwestern shores touch on five US states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas); southwestern and southern shores span lie along five Mexican states (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and the northernmost tip of Quintana Roo). On its southeast quadrant, the Gulf is bordered by Cuba.

• It provides economic wealth, products, food, services, cultural heritage and energy directly to the countries that share it, and contributes to the oceanic biodiversity as a whole.

• It is a major asset to its coastal countries in terms of fisheries and seafood processing, tourism, agriculture, oil infrastructure, trade, and shipping.

Formation of Gulf of Mexico

• The Gulf of Mexico  basin appears to have formed 200 million years ago as the result of rifting within North America as the supercontinent known as Pangea began to break up.

• Rifting and the accompanying formation of “stretched” or “transitional” continental crust took several tens of millions of years.

• Intermittent advance of the sea into the rifting/extending continental area 160 million years ago resulted in the formation of extensive salt/evaporite deposits known today in the north and south-central Gulf of Mexico. 

• Continental drift accompanied the formation of oceanic crust from 160 to 135 million years ago in the central Gulf basin, as what is now the Yucatan peninsula moved southward towards its modern position.

Why Trump wants to rename Gulf of Mexico?

• The Gulf of Mexico has long been an integral asset to the once burgeoning nation and has remained an indelible part of America.

• The Gulf was a crucial artery for America’s early trade and global commerce.

• It is the largest gulf in the world, and the US coastline along this body of water spans over 1,700 miles and contains nearly 160 million acres.

• Its natural resources and wildlife remain central to America’s economy today.

• The bountiful geology of this basin has made it one of the most prodigious oil and gas regions in the world, providing roughly 14 per cent of the country’s crude-oil production and an abundance of natural gas, and consistently driving new and innovative technologies that have allowed it to tap into some of the deepest and richest oil reservoirs in the world.

• The Gulf of Mexico is also home to vibrant American fisheries teeming with snapper, shrimp, grouper, stone crab, and other species, and it is recognised as one of the most productive fisheries in the world, with the second largest volume of commercial fishing landings by region in the nation, contributing millions of dollars to local American economies.

• The Gulf of Mexico is also a favorite destination for American tourism and recreation activities. 

• Further, it is a vital region for the multi-billion-dollar US maritime industry, providing some of the largest ports in the world.

• The Gulf of Mexico will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping America’s future and the global economy.

• In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to the country’s economy and its people, Trump directed that it officially be renamed the Gulf of America.

Can Trump rename the Gulf of Mexico?

• Trump’s order says that within 30 days, the US secretary of the Interior will rename “the U.S. 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 US, renaming geographical place names is the work of the US Board on Geographic Names. 

• There is no formal international agreement or protocol for the naming of maritime areas, and no international body has the final word on maritime names. The International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) seeks to standardise names and resolve disputes.

• While Trump can direct the US Geological Survey to rename Gulf of Mexico, it would be unlikely to be recognised internationally.

• So while Trump could, theoretically, change the name of the Gulf of Mexico on official US documents, this does not need to be internationally accepted.

• Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said that US President Trump can call the Gulf whatever he wants in the United States, but that in Mexico and in the rest of the world, it will continue to be known as the Gulf of Mexico.

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