Named for August Kautz, who is sometimes credited for the first ascent of Mount Rainier,[3] covers 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) and contains 7.8 billion ft3 (221 million m3) of ice.

[4] Immediately west of the main ice cliff, the glacier continues down Kautz Chute which terminates in another ice cliff just above the lower Kautz Glacier at 10,800 feet (3,300 m).

Just before it meets the Success Glacier, the Kautz makes a right turn and heads west for a short distance.

Similar flows have stemmed from the Nisqually, Winthrop, and South Tahoma glaciers as well.

The meltwater transformed into a 14 billion ft3 (40 million m3) mudflow replete with large boulders up to 13 feet (4 m) in diameter.