Mesquite Mine, California

One of the largest gold mines in the country, the Mesquite Mine, located in Imperial County, in the southeastern corner of the state, extracts over 100,000 ounces of gold annually (valued at over $100 million). The mine, which abuts the Chocolate Mountains Gunnery Range, is owned by New Gold, Inc., as of June 2009. It is also notable as being adjacent to the site where the County of Los Angeles, almost 200 miles away, is preparing its waste-by-rail megafill landfill project.