Dautphetal

Dautphetal
The community Dautphe of Dautphetal
Coat of arms
Dautphetal
Location of Dautphetal within Marburg-Biedenkopf district
Coordinates: 50°50′0″N 8°33′0″E / 50.83333°N 8.55000°E / 50.83333; 8.55000Coordinates: 50°50′0″N 8°33′0″E / 50.83333°N 8.55000°E / 50.83333; 8.55000
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Gießen
District	Marburg-Biedenkopf
Government
• Mayor	Bernd Schmidt (FW)
Area
• Total	72.03 km2 (27.81 sq mi)
Elevation	220-533 m (−1,529 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	11,584
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	35232
Dialling codes	06466, 06468, 06420
Vehicle registration	MR
Website	www.dautphetal.de

Dautphetal is a community in Hesse, Germany, and is among the six larger communities of the 22 in Marburg-Biedenkopf district.

The community lies in the western part of the district about 37 km east of Siegen and about 15 km west of Marburg in the upper Lahn valley. It is characterized by the Palaeozoic Rhenish Massif (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge). Indeed, this range's foothills from the west meet the Westerwald's from the south and the Rothaargebirge's from the north here. Historically speaking, Dautphetal belongs to the so-called Hessisches Hinterland.

Since the community is to be found in the Rhenish Massif region, rock from the Palaeozoic Era can be found here. In Dautphetal, common minerals to be found include greywacke, diabases, quartzites, and loam produced by weathering of slate and diabase, but also partly limestone.

The geological zone is known to the Hessian Environmental Atlas (Umweltatlas Hessen) as Dill-Mulde .

Besides the copper ore that can be found here, the municipal area also has deposits of manganese and iron ore.

Dautphetal's municipal area is classified under the German system of natural regions as follows: The Sackpfeifen foothills (with Wollenberg) (Sackpfeifen-Vorhöhen (mit Wollenberg)) (natural region 332.0) in the area north of the Upper Lahn Valley (Oberes Lahntal) falls under the main unit Ostsauerländer Gebirgsrand. The natural region of the Upper Lahn Valley, 320.2, Bottenhorn Plateau (Bottenhorner Hochflächen, 320.01) as well as the Damshausen Hills (Damshäuser Kuppen, 320.10) belong to the Gladenbach Uplands (Gladenbacher Bergland). The highest mountain in this area is the Nimerich (533 m above sea level) northwest of the constituent community of Dautphe. The lowest point anywhere in the area is found on the river Lahn at Elmshausen, where the elevation is 225 m above sea level. East of the community's municipal lands at Damshausen lies the Rimberg (mountain, 498 m above sea level).