<P> Economic resources of the Rocky Mountains are varied and abundant . Minerals found in the Rocky Mountains include significant deposits of copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten, and zinc . The Wyoming Basin and several smaller areas contain significant reserves of coal, natural gas, oil shale, and petroleum . For example, the Climax mine, located near Leadville, Colorado, was the largest producer of molybdenum in the world . Molybdenum is used in heat - resistant steel in such things as cars and planes . The Climax mine employed over 3,000 workers . The Coeur d'Alene mine of northern Idaho produces silver, lead, and zinc . Canada's largest coal mines are near Fernie, British Columbia and Sparwood, British Columbia; additional coal mines exist near Hinton, Alberta, and in the Northern Rockies surrounding Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia . </P> <P> Abandoned mines with their wakes of mine tailings and toxic wastes dot the Rocky Mountain landscape . In one major example, eighty years of zinc mining profoundly polluted the river and bank near Eagle River in north - central Colorado . High concentrations of the metal carried by spring runoff harmed algae, moss, and trout populations . An economic analysis of mining effects at this site revealed declining property values, degraded water quality, and the loss of recreational opportunities . The analysis also revealed that cleanup of the river could yield $2.3 million in additional revenue from recreation . In 1983, the former owner of the zinc mine was sued by the Colorado Attorney General for the $4.8 million cleanup costs; five years later, ecological recovery was considerable . </P> <P> The Rocky Mountains contain several sedimentary basins that are rich in coalbed methane . Coalbed methane is natural gas that arises from coal, either through bacterial action or through exposure to high temperature . Coalbed methane supplies 7 percent of the natural gas used in the United States . The largest coalbed methane sources in the Rocky Mountains are in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and Colorado and the Powder River Basin in Wyoming . These two basins are estimated to contain 38 trillion cubic feet of gas . Coalbed methane can be recovered by dewatering the coal bed, and separating the gas from the water; or injecting water to fracture the coal to release the gas (so - called hydraulic fracturing). </P> <P> Agriculture and forestry are major industries . Agriculture includes dryland and irrigated farming and livestock grazing . Livestock are frequently moved between high - elevation summer pastures and low - elevation winter pastures, a practice known as transhumance . </P>

The great lakes are of the rocky mountains