Hoh Rainforest

Hoh Rainforest is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States, located on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It encompasses 24 square miles (62 km2) of low elevation forest along the Hoh River, ranging from 394 to 2,493 feet (120 to 760 m). The rainforest receives an average of 140 inches (360 cm) of annual precipitation—among the rainiest places in the United States. The Hoh River valley was formed thousands of years ago by glaciers and is the ancestral home of the Hoh people. Within Olympic National Park, the forest is protected from commercial exploitation. Between the park boundary and the Pacific Ocean, 48 km (30 mi) of river, much of the forest has been logged within the last century, although many pockets of forest remain. According to the National Park Service, in 2024 approximately 460,000 people visited the Hoh District, which includes the rainforest and its visitor center. The protected portion of the forest includes the "One Square Inch of Silence", a 1-square-inch (6.5 cm2) monument to mark what it deems the "quietest place in the United States". It was placed in 2005 as part of a demonstration in favor of noise control.