Sihl Valley

Sihl Valley (

canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly Sihltal is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the area in the southwest of the city of Zürich

.

Lake Zürich as seen from Felsenegg

Geography

In common

The area alongside

Zürich

. The region of the valley comprises about 250 km² (97 sq mi).

Upper Sihl Valley

Sihl rises at Drusberg near

Schindellegi

.

Lower Sihl Valley

Now it enters the canton of Zurich, nearby

Schönenberg, flowing through the valley between the Zimmerberg and Albis chains. Near Sihlbrugg, the rivers passes the Sihlwald,^[1] the largest remaining deciduous forest of the Swiss Plateau, located between Sihlbrugg and Zürich-Leimbach. The Sihl flows in Zürich underneath Zürich Hauptbahnhof – parts of the train station are built below the Sihl – before joining the Limmat at Platzspitz park located at the Swiss National Museum

.

The break of the concrete dam of the Sihlsee could lead, according to studies, to an 8 m (26 ft) high flood wave reaching the city of Zürich, the biggest city in Switzerland, within 1.5 hours (Leimbach), its inner city (2 hours) and Zürich-Altstetten within 3 hours.^[2]

Flora and fauna

Flora

As part of a floristic mapping, the territory of the Sihl Valley between the city of Zürich and Höhronen was mapped by the Institute for the conservation of the Canton of Zürich on an area of 249 km2. The so-called report "Flora des Sihltals von der Stadt Zürich bis zum Höhronen" includes 2109 species, including 611 frequent crops and ornamental plants or accidentally introduced species which grow wild at most locally and in the short term. 1498 species are, or were at least 30 years during the last 160 years in stable populations exist. Of which 177 or 13% are now extinct, and 284 have been re-introduced and introduced. In all, the flora has become more species-ric, however, 42% of the previous species have decreased and only 30% show an increasing trend.^[3]

Recreation

Sihltal is a well-known recreation area and popular for

biking tours along Sihl and in the surrounding hills between the chains of Höhronen, Albis-Felsenegg and Zimmerberg

.

Zimmerberg-Sihltal region

The term "Region

Schönenberg, Sihlbrugg, Thalwil and Wädenswil

.

Transportation

The lower Sihl valley has an excellent local transportation network:

S4 (SZU) and a stop on the line S21 to Zürich Hauptbahnhof (VBZ). Nearby the city of Zürich, additional bus lines are provided by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich. It is also important as terminal of the A4 motorway between Zug and the canton of Zürich, and of five regional streets in the Sihltal to Zürich, Zug, Langnau am Albis and to Wädenswil (Hirzel Pass

).

References

^ Wildnispark Zürich: Sihlwald
^ "Stadt Zürich: Wasseralarm Sihlsee" (PDF). (387 KB)
^ Elias Landolt (2013-03-01). "Flora des Sihltals von der Stadt Zürich bis zum Höhronen" (PDF) (in German). Fachstelle Naturschutz Kanton Zürich. Retrieved 2015-06-16.

External links

Region Zimmerberg-Sihltal (in German)

47°16′N 8°34′E / 47.267°N 8.567°E / 47.267; 8.567

[1] Wildnispark Zürich: Sihlwald

[2] "Stadt Zürich: Wasseralarm Sihlsee" (PDF). (387 KB)

[flora-3] Elias Landolt (2013-03-01). "Flora des Sihltals von der Stadt Zürich bis zum Höhronen" (PDF) (in German). Fachstelle Naturschutz Kanton Zürich. Retrieved 2015-06-16.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Parks and forests in Zürich
Parks	Arboretum Belvoirpark Bürkliplatz Chinagarten Gustav-Ammann-Park Irchelpark Leutschenpark Lindenhof Louis-Häfliger-Park MFO-Park Oerliker Park Old Botanical Garden Quaianlagen Platzspitz Rieterpark Schanzengraben Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen Sukkulentensammlung University Botanical Garden Villa Tobler Wahlenpark Werdinsel Zürichhorn
Forests	Adlisberg Käferberg Uetliberg Zürichberg