The Elwha snowfinger is a perennial

snow field A snow field, snowfield or neve is an accumulation of permanent snow and ice, typically found above the snow line, normally in mountainous and glacial terrain. Glaciers A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of r ...

located near the Dodwell Rixon Pass, which is Altitude of Dodwell Rixon Pass
/ref> high and separates the watersheds of the Elwha and

Queets Queets is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor and Jefferson counties, Washington, United States. The population was 136 at the 2020 census, down from 174 at the 2010 census. The primary residents of th ...

rivers in the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

in the United States. This snowfield is created by continuous winter and spring

avalanches An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a Grade (slope), slope, such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, othe ...

into the upper pass area. It is the source of the

Elwha River The Elwha River is a river on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. From its source at Elwha snowfinger in the Olympic Mountains, it flows generally north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Most of the river's co ...

References

Snow fields Landforms of Clallam County, Washington {{JeffersonCountyWA-geo-stub