Current 2D face recognition systems encounter difficulties in recognizing faces with large pose variations. Utilizing the pose-invariant features of 3D face data has the potential to handle multiview face matching. A feature extractor based on the directional maximum is proposed to estimate the nose tip location and the pose angle simultaneously. A nose profile model represented by subspaces is used to select the best candidates for the nose tip. Assisted by a statistical feature location model, a multimodal scheme is presented to extract eye and mouth corners. Using the automatic feature extractor, a fully automatic 3D face recognition system is developed. The system is evaluated on two databases, the MSU database (300 multiview test scans from 100 subjects) and the UND database (953 near frontal scans from 277 subjects). The automatic system provides recognition accuracy that is comparable to the accuracy of a system with manually labeled feature points.