Lake Zurich

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Lake Zurich Zürichsee


Coordinates	47°15′N 8°41′ECoordinates: 47°15′N 8°41′E
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 (of lake water)	440 days
Surface elevation	406 m (1,342 ft)
Frozen	1962/1963 (last)
Islands	Lützelau, Ufenau
Settlements	see list

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

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 47°15′N, 8°41′E.

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 that of Schwyz, and 10 km² towards its northern shore in that 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.

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. There are a number of passenger ferry services, noticeably the small auto ferry between Horgen and Meilen.

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

1 Cities on the lake
2 Water quality
3 Gallery
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Cities on the lake

List of cities on Lake Zurich
Left shore ¹	Right shore
Nuolen Lachen Altendorf Pfäffikon Freienbach Bäch Richterswil Wädenswil Au Horgen Oberrieden Thalwil Rüschlikon Kilchberg	Schmerikon Bollingen Rapperswil Feldbach Uerikon Kehlhof Stäfa Männedorf Uetikon am See Meilen Herrliberg Erlenbach Küsnacht Zollikon
Zürich
Note: ¹ Left shore from the entry of the Linth River, i.e. the south shore, which gradually becomes the west shore.

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.

[edit] 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.