ABSTRACT
Economists customarily divide natural resources into two broad categories: renewable resources and nonrenewable resources. The nonrenewable resources include all of the mineral products created by geologic processes; the genesis of most ores occurred long in the past as a onetime event, although it may have taken eons of geologic time to complete the process. The fevered search for gold had as much to do with Colorado's exploration and settlement as did the settler's quest for land and a new start in life. The earliest US government explorations to Colorado— made by Zebulon Pike, Stephen H. Long, and John C. Fremont—were oriented primarily toward mapping new regions and recording their natural history. Colorado's nonrenewable natural resources include a wide range of the world's mineral resources. A few of the important raw materials for modern industrial society are lacking; a few others are almost unique to the state.
