Lake Zurich

For the lake and village in the U.S., see Lake Zurich, Illinois.

Lake Zurich Zürichsee
Lake Zurich, Pfannenstiel and Sihl Valley, as seen from nearby Felsenegg (April 2010)
Coordinates	47°15′N 8°41′E / 47.25°N 8.683°E / 47.25; 8.683Coordinates: 47°15′N 8°41′E / 47.25°N 8.683°E / 47.25; 8.683
Primary inflows	Linth (Linthkanal)
Primary outflows	Limmat
Catchment area	1,829 km²
Basin countries	Switzerland
Max. length	40 km (25 mi)
Max. width	3 km (1.9 mi)
Surface area	88.66 km² (34.4 mi²)
Average depth	49 m
Max. depth	143 m (469 ft)
Water volume	3.9 km³
Residence time	440 days
Surface elevation	406 m (1,342 ft)
Frozen	1929, 1962/1963 (last)
Islands	Lützelau, Ufenau
Sections/sub-basins	Obersee
Settlements	see list

Lake Zurich (Swiss German/Alemannic: Zürisee; German: Zürichsee) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates 47°15′N 8°41′E / 47.25°N 8.683°E / 47.25; 8.683.

Zürichsee is strictly the name of the part of the lake downstream of the dam at Rapperswil, mostly located within the canton of Zurich. The part upstream of the Rapperswil dam is called Obersee, and is shared between the cantons of St. Gallen and Schwyz.

Geography

Geographically, Lake Zurich is located in the southwestern part of the canton of Zurich. To the east are – separated by Zürichberg-Adlisberg, Forch and Pfannenstiel – two minor lakes: Greifensee (Lake Greifen) and Pfäffikersee (Lake Pfäffikon). Zimmerberg and the Etzel regions lie to the west.

Lake Zurich is formed by the river Linth, which, rising in the glaciers of the Tödi Range in Glarus, which was diverted by the Escher canal (completed in 1811) into the Lake Walen, there by means of the Linth canal (completed in 1816), its waters are carried to the east end of the Lake of Zurich. The waters of the Lake of Zurich outflow from the lake at its north-west end, passing through the city of Zurich, however the outflow is then called the Limmat.

No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth. It is included, or the greater portion, in the Canton of Zurich, but at its easterly end about 20 km² towards the southern shore are in Canton of Schwyz, and 10 km² towards its northern shore in Canton of St. Gallen. The large masonry dam (the Seedamm), carrying a railway line and road from Rapperswil to Pfäffikon, divides the lake. The eastern section of the lake is known as the Obersee, German for "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 touristic destination is the Au peninsula at the village of Au between Wädenswil and Horgen.

The lake was frozen in the following 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 Rapperswil.

Besides Bürkliplatz in Zurich and the Seedamm, 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.

Cities on the lake

List of localities at Lake Zurich

Left shore ¹	Right shore
Nuolen (SZ) Lachen (SZ) Altendorf (SZ) Pfäffikon (SZ) Hurden (SZ) Freienbach (SZ) Bäch (SZ) Richterswil (ZH) Wädenswil (ZH) Au (ZH) Horgen (ZH) Oberrieden (ZH) Thalwil (ZH) Rüschlikon (ZH) Kilchberg (ZH)	Schmerikon (SG) Bollingen (SG) Busskirch (SG) Jona (SG) Rapperswil (SG) Kempraten (SG) Feldbach (ZH) Uerikon (ZH) Kehlhof (ZH) Stäfa (ZH) Männedorf (ZH) Uetikon am See (ZH) Meilen (ZH) Herrliberg (ZH) Erlenbach (ZH) Küsnacht (ZH) Zollikon (ZH)
Zurich
Notes: ¹ Left shore from the entry of the Linth River, i.e. the south shore, which gradually becomes the west shore. Cantons: SZ, SG, ZH.

Zurich, 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 Thalwil, Horgen, Wädenswil, Richterswil, Pfäffikon, and Lachen.

On the opposite shore are Küsnacht, Meilen, Stäfa, and Rapperswil-Jona with the medieval town of Rapperswil, 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.

Water quality

Lake Zurich's water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond 20 °C. Swimming in the public baths and beaches is very popular. The lake's water is purified and fed into Zurich's water system; it is potable.

Gallery

• 

  View from the top of the communications tower at Uetliberg.

• 

  View from Felsenegg to the eastern part of Lake Zurich

• 

  Ufenau island

• 

  Au peninsula

• 

  Seedamm between Rapperswil and Hurden, view from Bachtel hill

• 

  Lützelau and Rapperswil, view from Ufenau island

• 

  Paddle steamships «Stadt Rapperswil» (to the left) and «Stadt Zürich» (1914) at Rapperswil (SG) harbour

Zürichsee view from Zurich to the Alps.

See also

• Paddle steamer Stadt Rapperswil
• Paddle steamer Stadt Zürich

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

Media related to Zürichsee at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Obersee (Zürichsee) at Wikimedia Commons

• Zürichsee Schifffahrtsgesellschaft -- Boat schedules, mainly non-English.
• Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen-Meilen -- Ferry schedules, in German.
• Waterlevels Lake Zurich at Zurich