Lake America on Your Google Map? How to Set Up the Region

If an embedded Google map shows the wrong name for a lake or border, set the map's region to your visitors' country. An embedded map follows the region the website gives it when it loads Google Maps, not the visitor's location, so a site that sets none can show a Canadian visitor the US name.

On 29 August 2026 Google announced that Google Maps labels Lake Ontario "Lake America" for people in the United States, after the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) changed the name it lists. Google's own note says people in Canada keep seeing "Lake Ontario" and people elsewhere see both names. Within a day, Canadian websites were showing "Lake America" to Canadians, among them the LCBO store locator, GO Transit's station finder and Hydro One's outage map, as reported by CBC News.

Related: Google Maps vs Mapbox | How to get a Google Maps API key

The short answer

• Add a two-letter country code as the map's region: CA, GB, AU or DE.
• On a StoreRocket locator, add data-storerocket-region="CA" to your embed code, or region: 'CA' to the programmatic option. The Install page lists both.
• A locator limited to exactly one country in its search settings takes that country as its region. Country limits depend on the plan, see pricing.
• The region changes how Google labels the map. It does not filter your locations.
• Not using StoreRocket? Add &region=CA to the script tag that loads the Maps JavaScript API.

Why a Canadian website shows the US name

The Google Maps app and google.com/maps follow the person using them. An embedded map does not decide by the visitor's location. It follows the region the website passes when it loads the Maps JavaScript API.

Google documents this as the region parameter on the script tag and encourages developers to always set one:

 1https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_KEY&region=CA

Google's note says Canada sees "Lake Ontario". A map that is told it is for Canada gets that label. A map that is told nothing can show the US name.

How to set the region on a StoreRocket locator

StoreRocket added the region setting on 1 September 2026. There are two ways to use it.

1. From your search settings. If your locator limits address suggestions to exactly one country, the map loads with that country as its region and you have nothing to do. Country limits depend on the plan, see pricing.
2. With a region attribute. If your locator serves several countries, or has no country limit, add the region to the opening line of your embed code and leave the rest unchanged. Copy your code from the Install page, then add the attribute:

 1<div id="storerocket-widget" style="width:100%;" data-storerocket-id="YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID" data-storerocket-region="CA">

If you installed the Web app (SPA) option from the Install page, pass it in the options instead:

 1StoreRocket.init({
 2    selector: '.storerocket-store-locator',
 3    account: 'YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID',
 4    region: 'CA',
 5});

The value is a two-letter country code (CA, GB, AU, DE). It changes how Google labels the map and does not filter your locations. A value on the embed takes priority over the one from your search restriction. The region applies to locators that use Google Maps.

If you run one embed per market, for example a .ca page and a .com page, give each embed its own region. One page, one map, one region.

How to check your own map

1. Open the page that carries your locator.
2. Zoom the map to the lake, or to any border region with disputed or translated names.
3. If the label is not the one your customers use, check whether the map loads with a region. If it is missing or wrong, set it as above, reload, and check again.

The region is read when the map loads, so reload the page after you change it. If the label still does not change, look for another script on the page that loads Google Maps before the locator does. That first script decides the localisation, and its loader needs the same region.

If you embed Google Maps without StoreRocket

The fix is the same one-line change on any website. Find the script tag that loads the Maps JavaScript API and add the region:

 1<script src="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_KEY&region=CA&language=en"></script>

Google's documentation for both parameters is at Localizing the Map. The language parameter controls the language of labels and controls; region controls which country's names and borders you see.

StoreRocket gives businesses with locations in several countries a store locator for their own website, with the region set from the embed code: import your locations from a spreadsheet, match it to your brand and paste one embed code. Create your locator with a free trial, no credit card needed.

Sources

• Google, How the GNIS Lake Ontario/Lake America name change in the U.S. will appear in Maps, 29 August 2026
• CBC News, Google updates maps to show Lake America in the U.S. but Canadians are now seeing it, too, 30 August 2026
• Global News, Why some Canadian website maps show 'Lake America' instead of Lake Ontario, 31 August 2026
• Google Maps Platform, Localizing the Map