Datteln is a town in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. As of 9/5/2011, 34,481 people lived there. Datteln is in the Recklinghausen Rural District. It is at the intersection of four canals: the Datteln-Hamm Canal, the Wesel-Datteln Canal, the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Rhein-Herne Canal. This is the largest canal junction in the world.