Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich | ||
---|---|---|
Zürichsee ( Primary inflows Linth (Linthkanal) | | |
Primary outflows | Limmat | |
Catchment area | 1,829 km2 (706 sq mi) | |
Basin countries | Switzerland | |
Max. length | 40 kilometres (25 miles) | |
Max. width | 3 kilometres (2 miles) | |
Surface area | 88.66 square kilometres (34.23 square miles) | |
Average depth | 49 metres (161 feet) | |
Max. depth | 136 metres (446 feet) | |
Water volume | 3.9 km3 (0.94 cu mi) | |
Residence time | 440 days | |
Surface elevation | 406 m (1,332 ft) | |
Frozen | 1929, 1962/1963 (last) | |
Islands | Lützelau, Ufenau, Schönenwirt | |
Sections/sub-basins | Obersee | |
Settlements | see list | |
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
No streams of importance flow into the lake besides the Linth..
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
Besides Quaibrücke in Zürich and the Seedamm, there are no bridges across the lake.
The
.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
Water quality
Lake Zurich's water is very clean and reaches, during summer, temperatures well beyond 20 °C (68 °F). Swimming in the
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich
Nine
These nine sites on the Lake Zurich lakeshore are
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:
- 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
-
View from the top of the observation tower at Uetliberg.
-
View from Felsenegg to the eastern part of Lake Zürich
-
Ufenau island
-
Au peninsula
-
Lützelau and Rapperswil, view from Ufenau island
-
Rapperswil (SG)harbour
-
Zurisee from an airplane
See also
- Obersee (Zürichsee)
- Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee
- Paddle steamer Stadt Rapperswil
- Paddle steamer Stadt Zürich
- Radio Zürisee
- Seedamm
- Zürichsee-Zeitung
References
- ISBN 978-3-302-05011-9. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- ^ a b c public domain: Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). "Zürich, Lake of". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 978-3-302-05011-9. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- ^ "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland". Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org). Archived from the original on 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
- ^ "World Heritage". palafittes.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ Bradshaw's pedestrian route-book for Switzerland, Chamouni, and the Italian lakes, George Bradshaw (1868)
External links
- Peter Ziegler: Zürichsee in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 28 February 2014.
- Zürichsee Schifffahrtsgesellschaft—Boat schedules, mainly non-English.
- Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen-Meilen—Ferry schedules, in German.
- Waterlevels Lake Zürich at Zürich
- Lake Zurich ENC Chart