'Lake Zurich' (
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 .
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, was diverted by the Escher canal (completed in 1811) into the
Lake Walen, whence, by means of the Linth canal (completed in 1816), its waters are carried to the east end of the lake of Zürich. This river issues from the lake at its north-west end, passing through the town of Zürich, but is then called the
Limmat.
No streams of importance flow into the lake. 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 great dam of masonry (the
Seedamm), carrying the railway line and road from
Rapperswil to
Pfäffikon, which cuts off the extreme eastern part of the lake from the rest, is passed only by small boats; steamers (of which the first was placed on the lake in 1835) do not go beyond the dam, as the eastern portion of the lake is shallow and choked by weeds. 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 only three nodal points are
Zürich,
Pfäffikon SZ and
Rapperswil.
Beyond
Bürkliplatz in
Zürich and the
Seedamm, there are no bridges across the lake. There are a few ferry services, noticeably the car 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
Cities 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
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 cured and fed into
Zurich's freshwater system, it is potable and
tastes fine.
Gallery
References
★
External links
★
Zürichsee Schifffahrtsgesellschaft -- Boat schedules, mainly non-English.
★
Zürichsee-Fähre Horgen-Meilen -- Ferry schedules, in German.
★
Waterlevels Lake Zurich at
Zurich
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