The chief industrial activities of the Rockies are mining and lumbering. The Southern Rockies, especially the Leadville District of Colorado, produce gold, lead, molybdenum, silver, tungsten, uranium, and zinc. The Wyoming Basin, in southwestern Wyoming, is a coal, petroleum, and natural gas producing area. Lumbering and the mining of coal, copper, lead, silver, and zinc are important in the Northern and Canadian Rockies. Much of the coking coal used in Japan's iron and steel industry is exported from the Fernie, British Columbia, area.
Tourism contributes greatly to the economy of the Rocky Mountain states and provinces.
Every year, millions of visitors enjoy the region's national parks, ski resorts, and many other attractions. Most peaks of the Rockies were formed millions of years ago during a great upheaval of the earth's crust. The sides of the mountains contain fossils of animals that once lived in the sea, and rocks that were formed in the hot interior of the earth. The southern half of the Rockies includes mountains that were once volcanic plateaus. Through the centuries, the peaks of the Rockies have been cut into various formations by the forces of wind, rain, and glaciers.