__NOTOC__ Lake Zurich (

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee'';

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the

Seedamm The Rapperswil Seedamm is the partially artificial causeway and bridge at the most narrow area of Lake Zurich, between Hurden (SZ) and Rapperswil (SG). The Seedamm carries a road and a railway across the lake, with the railway being used by the ...

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

, whilst the part upstream of Rapperswil may be called the ''Obersee'' or Upper Lake.

Geography

Lake Zurich is formed by the Linth river, which rises in the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

s of the

Glarus Alps The Glarus Alps (german: Glarner Alpen) are a mountain range in central Switzerland. They are bordered by the Uri Alps and the Schwyz Alps to the west, the Lepontine Alps to the south, the Appenzell Alps to the northeast. The eastern part of ...

and was diverted by the Escher canal (completed in 1811) into Lake Walen from where its waters are carried to the east end of Lake Zurich by means of the Linth canal (completed in 1816). The waters of the Lake of Zurich flow out of the lake at its north-west end ( Quaibrücke), passing through the city of Zürich; however, the outflow is then called the Limmat. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level. No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth. The

, a partially artificial causeway and bridge, crosses a narrow point of the lake carrying a railway line and road from

to Pfäffikon. The eastern section of the lake is known as the '' Obersee'' ("upper lake"). West of this dam lie the small islands of Lützelau and Ufenau, where in 1523 Ulrich von Hutten took refuge and died. Both shores are well cultivated and fertile. Another tourist destination is the Au peninsula at the village of Au between Wädenswil and Horgen. To the east – separated by

Zürichberg The Zürichberg is a wooded hill rising to 679 m (2,228 feet), overlooking Lake Zürich and located immediately to the east of the city of Zürich, Switzerland, between the valleys of the Limmat and the Glatt rivers. Its highest point is about ...

- Adlisberg, Forch and

Pfannenstiel Pfannenstiel may refer to: People *Hermann Johannes Pfannenstiel (1862–1909), German gynecologist who was a native of Berlin (see ''Pfannenstiel incision'') *Jackalyne Pfannenstiel (born 1947), United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Insta ...

– are two minor lakes: Greifensee (Lake Greifen) and Pfäffikersee (Lake Pfäffikon). Zimmerberg and the Etzel regions lie to the west. Administratively, Lake Zurich is split between the cantons of

, St. Gallen and Schwyz. The lower lake, to the west of the Seedamm, is largely in the canton of Zürich, whilst the upper lake is shared between the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz.

History

The lake was frozen in the following

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

years: * 1223, 1259, 1262 * 1407, 1491 * 1514, 1517, 1573 * 1600, 1660, 1684, 1695 * 1709, 1716, 1718, 1740, 1755, 1763, 1789 * 1830, 1880, 1891, 1895 * 1929, 1963

Population and transportation

The three population and transportation centres are Zurich, Pfäffikon SZ and

. Besides Quaibrücke in Zurich and the

, there are no bridges across the lake. The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft – the Lake Zurich Navigation Company – provides with its 17-passenger ships touristic services on Lake Zurich. There are a number of passenger ferry services, noticeably the Horgen–Meilen ferry, an auto ferry between Horgen and

Meilen Meilen is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than 4,000 years. In January 1854 the level of lake Zürich was particularly low and the locals ...

Towns on the lake

, at the north-western end of the lake, is the largest city on Lake Zurich. On the west shore (which gradually becomes the south shore) are Rüschlikon, Thalwil, Horgen, Wädenswil, Richterswil, Pfäffikon, and Lachen. On the opposite shore are Küsnacht,

, Stäfa, and Rapperswil-Jona with the medieval town of

, whose castle is home to the Polish museum. Schmerikon is close to the east end of the lake, and a little further east is the larger town of

Uznach Uznach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uznach is first mentioned in 741 as ''Uzinaa'' in a grant from a noble lady at Benken Abbey to the Abbey of Saint G ...

Water quality

Lake Zurich's water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond . Swimming in the public baths and beaches is very popular. The lake's water is purified and fed into

's water system; it is potable. PanoZueri

Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee

The Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee comprises 11 of total 56

Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps are a series of prehistoric pile dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from about 5000 to 500 BC on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. In 2011, 111 sites located various ...

in Switzerland, that are located around ''

Zürichsee __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich (Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used t ...

'' in the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and

. Located on ''Zürichsee'' lakeshore, there are Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn, Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach, Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum, Erlenbach–Winkel, Meilen–Rorenhaab, Wädenswil–Vorder Au, Zürich–Enge Alpenquai, Grosser Hafner and Kleiner Hafner. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around to under the water level of . Also on the small area of about around Zürichsee are the settlements Greifensee–Storen/Wildsberg on ''Greifensee'' and

Wetzikon–Robenhausen Wetzikon–Robenhausen is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland. The site is located on ''Pfäffikersee'' lakeshore in Robenhausen, a lo ...

on ''Pfäffikersee'' lakeshore. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, each of these 11 prehistoric pile dwellings is also listed as a ''Class object'' in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

Tributaries

The following rivers or streams flow into Zürichsee.''Bradshaw's pedestrian route-book for Switzerland, Chamouni, and the Italian lakes'', George Bradshaw (1868) From the Limmat clockwise, they are:

*Hornbach (at Zürichhorn) *Düggelbach (at Zollikon) *Kusenbach (at Küsnacht) *Küsnachter Dorfbach (at Hornelanpark, Küsnacht) *Heslibach (at Erlenbach) *Dorfbach Erlenbach (at Erlenbach) *Tobelbächli (at Erlenbach) *Schipfbach (at Erlenbach) *Rossbach (at Herrliberg) *Meilener Dorfbach (at Meilen) *Beugenbach (at Meilen) *Aebletenbach (at Ländeli) *Uetiker Mulibach (at Meilen) *Feldbach (at Horn) *Sarenbach (at Freienbach) *Krebsbach (at Bäch) *Mülibach (at Richterswil) *Zürichsee (at Wädenswil) *Meilibach (at Wädenswil) *Schanzengraben (Zürich)

Gallery

File:Uetliberg LCD.jpg, View from the top of the observation tower at Uetliberg. File:Felsenegg - view from the top.jpg, View from Felsenegg to the eastern part of Lake Zürich File:Zürichsee.jpg, Ufenau island File:Halbinsel Au Nordseite.jpg, Au peninsula File:SeedammBachtel.JPG,

between

and Hurden, view from Bachtel hill File:Rapperswil - Schlosshügel mit Sicht auf Ufenau.JPG, Lützelau and

, view from Ufenau island File:DS Stadt Zürich & Rapperswil - Rapperswil 1914.IMG 2362.jpg, Paddle steamships '' Stadt Rapperswil'' (to the left) and '' Stadt Zürich'' (1914) at Rapperswil (SG) harbour File:Zurisee Airplane.jpg, Zurisee from an airplane

References

External links

*
Zürichsee Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
��Boat schedules, mainly non-English.
Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen-Meilen
��Ferry schedules, in German.

at

Lake Zurich ENC Chart
{{Authority control Zurich Zurich Zurich Zurich LZurich Schwyz–St. Gallen border