Lakes, rivers and hills

The largest lake in the canton is Lake Zurich. The second-largest is Lake Greifen, followed by Lake Pfäffikon. Both are in the Zurich Oberland, east of the city of Zurich. Lake Zug, Lake Hallwil, Lake Sempach, Lake Walen and Lake Sihl are in other cantons.

Lake Zurich is surrounded by three hills: in the west by the Uetliberg and the Albis, in the east by the Pfannenstiel. The Uetliberg is the city of Zurich's local mountain. The highest mountain in the canton is the Schnebelhorn in the Zurich Oberland. Other mountains are the Bachtel, the Hörnli and the Schauenberg. The Lägern is in the north, the Randen in the canton of Schaffhausen.

The Limmat flows out of Lake Zurich. It flows right through the city of Zurich and later into the canton of Aargau. In the city of Zurich the Sihl flows into the Limmat, at the Platzspitz behind the main station. The Töss flows through Winterthur. Other rivers are the Glatt, the Thur and the Rhine on the northern border. The Aare, the Rhone, the Inn and the Ticino do not flow through the canton of Zurich.

Memory aid: Lakes by size: Lake Zurich, Lake Greifen, Lake Pfäffikon. «Z-G-P».