The Gladenbach Uplands are geographical unit 320 which is part of the natural region 32, the Westerwald, in Germany's system of natural regions. The Gladenbach Highlands is largely coextensive with the Lahn-Dill Uplands Nature Park which extends further west, however, but is somewhat less extensive in the southeast and whose boundaries tend to line up with those of the sponsoring municipalities. In addition, not insignificant areas belong to the historical Hessian Hinterland, which is why the two named articles refer to one another, as far as regional associations, culture and history are concerned. Geology and mining will be largely covered in the article on the Lahn-Dill Region
Geography
Location and boundaries
The prominent heights on the eastern edge of the natural region of Zollbuche seen from the north (from right up to the centre): the Dreisberg (448 m), Koppe (454 m) and Hemmerich (470 m). Right of centre the distant Dünsberg (498 m) may be made out, whilst the Zollbuche ridge transitions on the right into the Bad Endbach Plateau (up to 488 m).
On the rivers Lahn and Dill the following towns - clockwise from the north - border the Gladenbach Uplands:
The northwest transitions to the Rothaar Mountains are comparatively fluid. Here the watershed between the Lahn tributaries of the Banfe and Perf define the boundary.
Rivers and streams
The natural regions mentioned above are generally divided between the catchment areas of the der Lahn and Dill tributaries and the landscapes separated by these rivers.
The most important watercourses, in addition to the boundary rivers of the Lahn, Dill and Dietzhölze – are the Aar, the Salzböde, the Perf and Allna.
The following rivers and streams are sorted in clockwise order i.e. down the Lahn and up the Dill, beginning with the upper reaches of the Lahn in the north and cover a catchment area of over 20 km²:[1] (the natural regions are linked in the column of their most important river!)
The outer boundary of the Gladenbach Uplands is formed by the Lahn and Dill accompanied in the north (upper reaches of the Lahn) by the B 62, in the east by the B 3Marburg-Gießen (mostly autobahn-like, clearly external in the Marburg area), in the east, south of the B 49 Gießen-Wetzlar (mostly autobahn-like) and in the southwest (lower reaches of the Dill) by the A 45. The Bundesstraße 253 Dillenburg-Biedenkopf (see above) roughly closes the remaining gap.
Waterbodies
The most important reservoir in the Gladenbach Uplands is the Aartalsee (57 ha, 270 m above NN) in the Niederweidbach Basin, followed by the Perf Reservoir (18 ha, 301 m) in the Breidenbach Bottom (Breidenbach Bottom).
Hills
The hills of the Gladenbach Uplands, arranged by ridge or natural region, include the following: (Location of the natural regions with the Gladenbach Uplands and location of the hills within the natural region)
Bergwald (im east up to 392 m) – east of the centre
Salzböde Valley – northeast, east and southeast of the centre
Kirchberg (362 m) – north, east of Gladenbach
Lammerich (357 m) – north, southwest of Gladenbach
View from the Hasenkopf looking west to the Tannenberg (left), the Großer Feldberg and the hills of the Gladenbach Uplands including the Dünsberg, Hemmerich, Angelburg, Daubhaus and Rimberg
Meynen, Emil (ed.): Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands. Selbstverlag der Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen, 1953-1962 (Part 1, contains issues 1-5), ISBN B0000BJ19E
Meynen, Emil (ed.): Handbuch der naturräumlichen Gliederung Deutschlands. Selbstverlag der Bundesanstalt für Landeskunde, Remagen, 1959-1962 (Part 2, contains issues 6-9), ISBN B0000BJ19F
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