United States' natural resources
The United States is rich in natural resources that play a crucial role in its economy and energy production. As one of the largest countries in the world, the U.S. has diverse geological formations that yield a variety of resources, including coal, oil, natural gas, copper, potash, and timber. The nation possesses the largest coal reserves globally, primarily concentrated in the Appalachian region, which serves as a significant source for electricity and industrial applications. Oil is another vital resource, with the U.S. leading in both production and consumption, largely sourced from states like Texas and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.
Natural gas is also a key energy source, with substantial reserves found across the country, contributing to heating and electricity generation. In addition to fossil fuels, the U.S. has notable deposits of minerals such as copper, zinc, and uranium, each serving various industrial and agricultural needs. The fishing industry contributes significantly to the economy as well, with a variety of fish and shellfish being caught and cultivated. Overall, the United States’ natural resources are integral to its economic infrastructure, supporting both domestic needs and international trade.
United States' natural resources
The United States plays an extremely important role in international trade. The country is a major importer of raw materials and is a leading exporter of agricultural products, finished products and financial services.
The Country
The United States of America is located on the North American continent. It is bordered on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean. The country shares its northern border with Canada. The western part of the southern United States is bordered by Mexico, and the eastern part by the Gulf of Mexico.
The United States is the third-largest country in the world in terms of population and had the world's largest economy in 2024. The economy is based on a marketplace composed of privately owned corporations, partnerships, and single-proprietor businesses. The country possesses a wide variety of terrain, with the Appalachian Mountains in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west, the Great Plains west of the Mississippi, and deserts farther west. Forests and both rolling and flat land suitable for farming are found in the midwestern and eastern states. The country has an abundance of lakes and rivers, including the Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake and the Mississippi, Ohio, Potomac, Hudson, and Colorado rivers. The redwood forests are found on the Pacific coast.
The United States has an abundance of resources. Some of the major resources are coal, oil, natural gas, potash, copper, and timber. In 2023, the United States ranked fourteenth in the world in gross domestic product per capita (purchasing power parity). The same year, the United States ranked first in the world in imports and second in the world in exports, behind China. The major US exports are finished goods, financial services, and agricultural products, especially soybeans, fruit, and corn. In 2022, the major US export markets were Canada and Mexico, followed by China and Japan. The United States imports a wide variety of products, including agricultural products, crude oil, and industrial supplies. China, Mexico, and Canada were the country’s major import partners in 2022.
Coal
Coal is a sedimentary rock varying from brown to black that is primarily composed of carbon and hydrocarbons and is combustible. It is the most plentiful of the fossil fuels found in the United States. The country has an estimated 249 billion tons of coal reserves, the largest coal reserves in the world. This accounts for 22 percent of the total coal reserves in the world. All four types of coal—anthracite, bituminous, semibituminous, and lignite—are found in the United States. Bituminous and semibituminous coal compose in excess of 90 percent of the coal mined in the United States.
There are three coal-mining regions in the country: the Appalachian region, the interior region, and the western coal region. Coal mined in Appalachia accounts for more than one-third of the coal mined in the United States. Bituminous is the primary coal mined in the region, with major mines in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The largest amount of this type of coal comes from mines in West Virginia, which is also the second largest coal-mining state in the country. All of the anthracite mined in the United States comes from mines located in northeastern Pennsylvania. The lignite mined in the United States is produced from mines in Texas (the interior region) and North Dakota (the western region). Wyoming is the major producer of subbituminous coal and the largest producer of coal in the United States.
Mining in the United States is done by both surface and underground mining. Although there are environmental concerns about the damage done to land by strip mining and the pollution of water and air by-products of mining and by emissions from the burning of coal, coal continues to play an important role in power plants and in industry. The government and private industry have implemented research and means of reducing these negative aspects of coal as an energy source. Both bituminous coal and lignite are used in the production of electricity; bituminous, referred to as metallurgical or “met” coal, is also used in the making of iron and steel and in the concrete and paper industries. Anthracite, which burns without smoking, is used for domestic heating in stoves and furnaces; it is also used to produce steam.
Oil
Oil or petroleum is composed of hydrogen and carbon compounds. It is a liquid form of fossilized biomass found in underground reservoirs in sedimentary basins and in the seabeds of the Earth. Gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and liquid propane gas are all derived from oil. Other products made from petroleum include ink, household products, tires, and DVDs. Oil is an important resource for the United States, which in 2021 ranked first in the world in both production and consumption of oil. In the United States, oil deposits are located in the Permian basin, the Mid-Continent Oil Producing Area, in the San Joaquin basin, in Alaska, and offshore. One-fourth of the crude oil produced in the United States comes from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas ranks first among the states in oil production. The other major oil producing states are North Dakota, Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
For decades, the United States’ large consumption of oil coupled with a decreasing domestic production necessitated ever-increasing imports. The United States was able to meet its demand for oil by domestic production until 1970. Since then, the country has imported more and more oil and by 2022 was the second-largest importer of oil, behind China. However, in the twenty-first century, technologies such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have granted access to previously hard-to-reach oil in places like North Dakota's Bakken Formation. Since then, the United States has risen to become the world's largest producer as well as consumer of oil, reducing its dependence on foreign sources of oil. Nonetheless, the United States continues to import oil from both Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations and non-OPEC nations. The United States is also the leading country in the world in the capacity to refine oil.
Natural Gas
Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is composed of a mixture of methane and other combustible hydrocarbons. In comparison to either oil or coal, natural gas produces a much lower quantity of environmental pollutants when burned. In 2022, the United States ranked first in the world in the production of natural gas, as well as first in consumption. Natural gas reserves are found throughout the United States, but the largest deposits are located in Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, and Alaska. The Gulf of Mexico also has an abundant reserve of natural gas. Natural gas produced in the United States meets most of the country’s requirement for the resource; however, some natural gas is imported through pipelines from Canada.
Natural gas is a major energy source for the United States. Natural gas is used to heat approximately one-half of the homes in the United States. It also plays a major role as an energy source for home appliances. Natural gas provides an important energy source for the generation of electric power and is vital in many US industries, including the production of steel, glass, and paper. Natural gas is also used as a raw material in a variety of products such as paint, fertilizer, and explosives.
Copper
Copper is a metallic element that occurs either freely or with other ores. It is often found in combination with molybdenum, gold, and silver. Open-pit mining and below-ground mining are used for the extraction of copper. Copper is an important component in the production of a wide variety of products, such as copper wire and corrosion-resistant tubing. It is used in electronic equipment, cooking appliances, and various construction materials. It is also used in a powdered form in equipment for automobiles and in the aerospace sector.
The first major commercial copper mining was done in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Throughout US history, copper mines have operated in many different states. By the twenty-first century, most of the mines had ceased operation, with the exception of mines in the West. Arizona and Utah both have long histories as major producers of copper. Other major copper mining states are Nevada, New Mexico, and Montana.
Potash
Potash is produced from a potassium compound, such as potassium oxide or potassium carbonate. Potash is produced either from underground mines, which are the most common, or from solution mining. It is sent to processing plants, where it is milled and refined, and the potassium chloride is processed into potash. The primary use of potash is in the making of fertilizer. Potash is also used in feed supplements for animals and in industrial manufacturing. Since the production of biofuels and ethanol became an important sector of the economy, potash has been used to improve both the quality and the yield of the crops from which these fuels are derived.
In the United States, the majority of the potash is located in Montana and North Dakota; however, it is also mined in Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah, where it is produced from brine evaporation.
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a nonmetallic element that occurs in sedimentary deposits. Phosphorus reserves in the United States have been estimated at 1.2 billion metric tons. Phosphate rock ore is mined and processed to make phosphoric acid and various phosphorus compounds. Almost all of the phosphate rock mined in the United States is processed into phosphoric acid. The major use of the phosphoric acid produced is in agricultural fertilizers and animal feed supplements. With the need for greater agricultural production worldwide, the demand for phosphorus has increased significantly and created a strong international market.
Zinc
Zinc is a base metal found in the Earth’s crust; it is often found in ore that also contains copper or lead. Zinc has a wide variety of uses in industry, manufacturing, and agriculture. A major use of zinc is in galvanizing; it is also used to make alloys such as brass and bronze. As a compound or dust, it is employed in the making of paint, rubber, fertilizers, and animal feeds as well as in medicines. About 25 percent of the zinc produced in the United States is used in various zinc compounds. The United States, along with Australia and Canada, has large deposits of zinc. The United States' zinc reserves have been estimated to contain 6.6 million metric tons.
In 2023, the United States ranked fifth in the world in the production of zinc. The demand for zinc reached a peak in 2006 and production was increased. There were sixteen zinc mines in operation in the United States that year. The mines produced 770,000 metric tons of zinc. The was reduced to 750,000 by 2023, mainly becaue the worldwide supply of zinc steadily exceeded the demand.
Uranium
Uranium is a metallic element occurring in rock. It is used to produce energy. Uranium deposits are found in the western part of the United States, with the largest in Wyoming and New Mexico. Although uranium is primarily mined in the western states, nuclear power plants are predominantly in the eastern half of the country. In 2024, the United States had fifty-four nuclear power plants, in which both boiling water and pressurized water reactors were used. The use of nuclear power in the United States remains a controversial issue with environmental concerns about radioactive waste.
Although uranium is an important resource in the United States, it is dependent on foreign imports for most of its uranium. The largest US imports of uranium have come from Australia, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
Other Resources
The United States also has significant deposits of many other minerals, including iron ore. Approximately 98 percent of the iron ore mined in the country is used in the production of steel. Other metals mined in the United States include molybdenum, gold, and silver.
Fisheries play a significant role both in the US domestic economy and in its international trade. Among the major fish and shellfish species caught and raised in aquaculture in the United States are pollack, flatfish, salmon, crab, and shrimp. In 2022, the United States fishing industry contributed $476.2 billion in value added to the gross national product. In 2022, the United States exported 1.1 million metric tons of edible fish and 1.2 million metric tons of fishmeal. The imports of edible fish were 3.3 million metric tons. Because of and its effect on fish populations and migration, the quantity of both imports and exports was expected to decrease.
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