The Ice River valley and surrounding peaks is said to be the only area of "mineralization" in the Canadian Rockies. This occurred in conjunction with an igneous intrusion, rare in the Rockies. Some of the names in the valley such as Zinc Mountain, Manganese Mountain, Garnet Mountain, Sodalite Creek, Garnet Creek, and Zinc Creek reflect the geological interest shown by George Dawson, Tom Wilson, Edward Whymper and others who first explored to the head of the Ice River. At one point, Tom Wilson proposed mining the sodalite in the base of the Ice River. The zinc deposits along the eastern slopes of the valley were "worked" for a period of time near the end of the nineteeth century.