Lake Zurich
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.
| Lake Zurich | |
|---|---|
| Zürichsee (German) | |
Lake Zurich, Pfannenstiel, and Sihl Valley, as seen from Felsenegg | |
Lake Zurich Lake Zurich Lake Zurich Lake Zurich Lake Zurich | |
| Coordinates | 47°14′51″N 8°40′39″E / 47.24750°N 8.67750°E |
| 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 |
Geography edit
Lake Zurich is formed by the river Linth, which rises in the glaciers of the Glarus Alps and was diverted by the Escher canal (completed in 1811) into 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.[2] The Seedamm, a partially artificial causeway and bridge, crosses a narrow point of the lake carrying a railway line and road from Rapperswil to Pfäffikon. The eastern section of the lake is known as the Obersee ("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.[2] Another tourist destination is the 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 edit
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 edit
The three population and transportation centres are Zürich, Pfäffikon SZ and Rapperswil.
Besides Quaibrücke in Zürich and the Seedamm, there are no bridges across the lake.
The Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft – the Lake Zurich Navigation Company – provides with its 17-passenger ships touristic services on Lake Zurich. There are a number of passenger ferry services, notably the Horgen–Meilen ferry, an auto ferry between Horgen and Meilen.
Towns on the lake edit
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 Küsnacht, Meilen, Stäfa, and Rapperswil-Jona with the medieval town of 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.
Water quality edit
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.
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich edit
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 Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn, Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach, Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum, Erlenbach–Winkel, Meilen–Rorenhaab, Wädenswil–Vorder Au, Zürich–Enge Alpenquai, and Kleiner Hafner. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around 4 metres (13 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) under the water level of 406 metres (1,332 ft). Two other sites are not far away: Greifensee–Storen/Wildsberg at the Greifensee and 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 Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance.[6]
Tributaries edit
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 edit
- View from the top of the observation tower at Uetliberg.
- View from Felsenegg to the eastern part of Lake Zürich
- Ufenau island
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- Lützelau and Rapperswil, view from Ufenau island
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- Zurisee from an airplane
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "National Map 1:50 000" (Map). Zürichsee (2011 ed.). 1:50 000. "National Map 1:50'000, 78 sheets and 25 composites". Bern, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Office of Topography, swisstopo. 16 January 2014. § "5011 Zürichsee - Zug". ISBN 978-3-302-05011-9. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- ^ a b c One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). "Zürich, Lake of". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "National Map 1:25 000" (Map). Tödi, Lake Zurich's culmination point (2009 ed.). 1:25 000. "National Map 1:25'000, 247 sheets and 17 composites". Bern, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Office of Topography, swisstopo. 16 January 2014. § "1193 Tödi". ISBN 978-3-302-05011-9. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- ^ . Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org). Archived from the original on 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
- ^ . palafittes.org. Archived from the original on 2014-12-09. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ . 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 edit
- Peter Ziegler: Zürichsee in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 28 February 2014.
- —Boat schedules, mainly non-English.
- Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen-Meilen—Ferry schedules, in German.
- Waterlevels Lake Zürich at Zürich
- Lake Zurich ENC Chart