U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week renaming Lake Ontario to Lake America amid a trade battle with Canada, but the original name predates the Canadian province and has deep Native American roots.
Trump's order comes after trade negotiations with Canada fell apart amid a rapidly escalating trade war. Canada since has announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth $20 billion, according to media reports.
Lake Ontario, or America, is the only Great Lake that doesn't touch Michigan. It straddles the U.S.-Canada international border between Ontario, Canada, and New York. Near the lake's southwest corner, Niagara Falls is a major tourist attraction.
The lake's name comes from Native American language and has been used since
the 17th century.
Trump's order only applies to the U.S. government. and Canada is not required to adopt the new name.
Canadian officials have said they will continue to refer to the lake as Lake Ontario.
In advance of Trump's order, Mélanie Joly, Canada's minister of industry, said: "We'll always call it Lake Ontario. Period. We're proud of our Great Lakes."
Here's more on the Great Lakes' Native American roots.
Where does the name Lake Ontario come from?
The name Lake Ontario comes from the Iroquoian word Ontari'io, meaning “lake of shining waters" and goes back to the 17th century,according to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL).
According to the Government of Canada, the word comes from "kanadario," the Iroquois word.
Ontario today is the is the second largest and the most populous province of Canada.
According to the Government of Canada, the earliest recording of the name Ontario was in 1641, when it was “used to describe a mass of land on the north shore of the easternmost part of the Great Lakes.”
The word Niigani-gichigami is the Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) word for Lake Ontario.
Where is Lake Ontario located?
Lake Ontario borders Canada's Ontario province to the north and west and New York in the U.S. to the south and east.
How deep is Lake Ontario?
Lake Ontario has an average depth of about283 feet, and a maximum depth of 802 feet, according to the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
How wide is Lake Ontario? How long?
Lake Ontario is 53 miles wideand 193 miles long, Michigan Sea Grant says.
How many lighthouses are on Lake Ontario?
Lake Ontario boasts more than 50 lighthouses along the Canadian and U.S. shores, many along the St. Lawrence River to the northeast, Great Lakes Proud says.
What is the Lake Erie's Indigenous name?
The name Lake Erie is a shortened form of the Indigenous name Erielhonan, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Erielhonan means long tail, referring to the Eastern cougar, according to EGLE.
What is the origin of the name Lake Superior?
French settlers named the lake Le Lac Superior meaning the upper lake, in the 17th century, Pure Michigan said.
What is the origin of the name Lake Michigan?
The name Lake Michigan draws its roots from the Indigenous name, Michigami.
How did Lake Huron get its name?
Lake Huron is named after the Huron, or Huron-Wendat people, whose ancestral homelands surround Lake Huron, Pure Michigan says. French settlers previously called the lake "La Mer Douce," meaning the freshwater sea.
USA TODAY and Detroit Free Press reporter Jenna Prestininzi contributed reporting.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Donald Trump says it's Lake America. Where did name Ontario come from?
