Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich (Swiss German/Alemannic: Zürisee; German: Zürichsee) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the town of Zürich. It is also known as Lake Zürich and Lake of Zürich. It lies approximately at co-ordinates .

Geography

Geographically, Lake Zürich is located in the southwestern part of the canton of Zürich. To the east of the lake are two minor lakes, Greifensee (Lake Greifen) and Pfäffikersee (Lake Pfäffikon).

It 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 Zürich. The waters of the Lake of Zürich outflow from the lake at its north-west end, passing through the city of Zürich, 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 Zürich, but at its east 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 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 & transportation

The three population and transportation centres are Zürich, Pfäffikon SZ and Rapperswil.

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

The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft – the Lake Zürich Navigation Company – provides with its 17 passenger ships touristic services on Lake Zürich. There are a number of passenger ferry services, noticeably the small auto ferry between Horgen and Meilen.

Cities at the lake

List of cities at Lake Zurich
Left shore ¹ Right shore
  • Zürich

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.

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

On the opposite shore are Küsnacht, Meilen, Stäfa, and the medieval town of Rapperswil-Jona, the castle of which shelters a 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.

External links

Шаблон:Commonscat

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Phil Kench
11 April 2016
Beautiful on a sunny day, there are 90 min ferry round trip tours which leave from near Bürkliplatz. 4CHF supplement on top of the daily city travel pass
Paul Wijhenke
21 June 2017
Nice cozy atmosphere and a beautiful view. Also, going there with your best friend is possible since it (and the people) are completely dogfriendly :)
Cyberntz
23 June 2012
Get the little bateau-mouche look alike boats. Short cruise across Lake Zurich and up the river Limmat at the cost of a bus/tram ticket. Included in day-pass.
Holmes Place Switzerland
Mieten Sie sich ein Boot und verbringen Sie einen erholsamen Tag an diesem See. Sie können auch in Seenähe in wunderschöner Umgebung laufen oder Rad fahren.
David Borrallo
9 January 2015
Es el lago de Zurich, y recomiendo una travesía de unas horas con tus amigos o pareja, desde Rapperswil en barco,disfrutando de una botella de vino
Claudia Medellin
16 August 2018
No dejes de recorrer el area de Bellevue, puedes comer en los restaurantes cerca o en Globus. Renta una pequeña lancha y recorre el lago Zurich.
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