Lake Zurich

Coordinates: 47°14′51″N 8°40′39″E / 47.24750°N 8.67750°E / 47.24750; 8.67750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lake Zurich
Zürichsee (
Primary inflows
Linth (Linthkanal)
Primary outflowsLimmat
Catchment area1,829 km2 (706 sq mi)
Basin countriesSwitzerland
Max. length40 kilometres (25 miles)
Max. width3 kilometres (2 miles)
Surface area88.66 square kilometres (34.23 square miles)
Average depth49 metres (161 feet)
Max. depth136 metres (446 feet)
Water volume3.9 km3 (0.94 cu mi)
Residence time440 days
Surface elevation406 m (1,332 ft)
Frozen1929, 1962/1963 (last)
IslandsLützelau, Ufenau, Schönenwirt
Sections/sub-basinsObersee
Settlementssee list
Map

Lake Zurich (German: Zürichsee; Swiss German/Alemannic: Zürisee)[1] is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. 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 at Rapperswil, whilst the part upstream of Rapperswil may be called the Obersee or Upper Lake.

Geography

Lake Zurich is formed by the river

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 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.[2] The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level.[3]

No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth.

Au peninsula at the village of Au between Wädenswil and Horgen
.

To the east, separated by Zürichberg-Adlisberg, Forch, and Pfannenstiel, 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 Zürich, 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/Anno Domini 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

Pfäffikon SZ and Rapperswil
.

Besides Quaibrücke in Zürich and the Seedamm, there are no bridges across the lake.

The

Horgen–Meilen ferry, an auto ferry between Horgen and Meilen
.

Towns on the lake

Zürich, 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

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
.

Lake Zurich from Grossmünster with Quaibrücke and the Limmat River in the foreground

Water quality

Lake Zurich's water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond 20 °C (68 °F). Swimming in the

public baths
and beaches is very popular. The lake's water is purified and fed into Zürich's water system; it is potable.

Lake Zurich view from Zürich to the Alps

Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich

Nine

Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee, which are located in the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and Zürich, are among the 56 Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland.[4][5]

These nine sites on the Lake Zurich lakeshore are

Wetzikon–Robenhausen
at the Pfäffikersee.

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

Tributaries

The following rivers or streams flow into Lake Zurich.[7] From the Limmat clockwise, they are:

Küsnachter Dorfbach and Küsnacht's Reformed Church
  • 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

See also

References

  1. . Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  2. ^ a b c  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainCoolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). "Zürich, Lake of". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. . Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  4. ^ "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland". Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org). Archived from the original on 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  5. ^ "World Heritage". palafittes.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  6. ^ "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  7. ^ Bradshaw's pedestrian route-book for Switzerland, Chamouni, and the Italian lakes, George Bradshaw (1868)

External links