The Geodetic Observatory Wettzell is operated by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG). The station is located at Bad Kötzting on an extensive saddle in the low mountain range of the Bavarian Forest at about 600 m above sea level. The average annual rainfall is 820 mm and the average annual temperature is 8 ° C. The soils are mainly brown earth, with the pseudoeye occasionally occur in the lowlands. The soils are sandy-loamy with a high skeleton content. Land use is characterized by grassland and forest use.
The subsurface is constructed on a large scale from biotite gneiss, which have a foliation as well as aeration. The gneiss is superimposed by a 5-15 m thick grisly weathering layer. The hydrogeological situation is characterized by a very variable groundwater table, with GW between 15 and 5 m and GW fluctuations of 3-4 m being no exception.