Sihl Valley (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Sihltal'') is a

river valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ov ...

and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

located in the district of Horgen in the

canton of Zurich Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the area in the southwest of the city of

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

Felsenegg - Adliswil - Zürichsee IMG 3249

Sihltal - Zürich - Zürichsee - Felsenegg IMG 5285

Geography

In common

The area alongside

Lake Zürich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich (Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used ...

had been formed as the left

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris ( regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sh ...

of the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

glacier, the bed of which is now the Lake Zürich and the valley of the Sihl. Sihl valley is extensively wooded, but also cultivated and heavily populated in its lower parts. The

Sihl The Sihl is a Swiss river that rises near the Druesberg mountain in the canton of Schwyz, and eventually flows into the Limmat in the centre of the city of Zürich. It has a length of , including the Sihlsee reservoir, through which the river fl ...

() is the name of a long river located in the cantons of Schwyz (SZ) and

Zürich (ZH) , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zü ...

. The valley compromises parts of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Einsiedeln (SZ) (upper Sihl valley), Horgen (ZH) and

. The region of the valley comprises about .

Upper Sihl Valley

Sihl rises at ''Drusberg'' near Hoch-Ybrig in the canton of Schwyz, passes the long

Sihlsee __NOTOC__ The Sihlsee (in English sometimes called ''Lake Sihl'') is an artificial lake in the Swiss canton of Schwyz, near the town of Einsiedeln. The lake was created by damming the river Sihl and flooding a section of the upper Sihl Valley. ...

near

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area ...

, ''Sunnegg'' near Biberbrugg and Schindellegi.

Lower Sihl Valley

Now it enters the canton of Zurich, nearby

Samstagern Samstagern is a village in the municipality Richterswil in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. Hüttnersee is located in the village. Demographics The population is about 2,851 with a rapidly increasing trend. Sam ...

passing Hütten and the

rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade ...

called ''Sihlsprung'' situated in Schönenberg, flowing through the valley between the Zimmerberg and

Albis The Albis is a chain of hills in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, stretching for some 19 km from Sihlbrugg in the south to Waldegg near Zürich in the north. The chain forms, among others, the border between the Affoltern and Horge ...

chains. Near Sihlbrugg, the rivers passes the Sihlwald, the largest remaining

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

forest of the

Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...

, located between Sihlbrugg and Zürich-Leimbach. The Sihl flows in

underneath

Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerlan ...

– parts of the train station are built below the Sihl – before joining the Limmat at '' Platzspitz park'' located at the Swiss National Museum. The break of the concrete dam of the

could lead, according to studies, to an high

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

wave reaching the city of Zürich, the biggest city in Switzerland, within 1.5 hours (Leimbach), its

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists somet ...

(2 hours) and Zürich-Altstetten within 3 hours.

Flora and fauna

Flora

As part of a floristic mapping, the territory of the Sihl Valley between the city of Zürich and Höhronen was mapped by the Institute for the conservation of the Canton of Zürich on an area of 249 km2. The so-called report "Flora des Sihltals von der Stadt Zürich bis zum Höhronen" includes 2109 species, including 611 frequent crops and ornamental plants or accidentally introduced species which grow wild at most locally and in the short term. 1498 species are, or were at least 30 years during the last 160 years in stable populations exist. Of which 177 or 13% are now extinct, and 284 have been re-introduced and introduced. In all, the flora has become more species-ric, however, 42% of the previous species have decreased and only 30% show an increasing trend.

Recreation

Sihltal is a well-known recreation area and popular for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

and

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

tours along Sihl and in the surrounding hills between the chains of Höhronen,

Felsenegg Felsenegg (el. ) is a vantage point in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Felsenegg is located some to the southwest of the city of Zürich on the Albis chain, between the municipalities of Stallikon and Adliswil. The hill ...

and Zimmerberg.

Zimmerberg-Sihltal region

The term "Region Zimmerberg-Sihltal" usually refers to the mountain, the area and

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

between Kilchberg–

Richterswil Richterswil ( Swiss German: ''Richtischwiil'' ) is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Richterswil is first mentioned in 1265 as ''Richtliswile''. During the 17th Century, a series of peas ...

–

and the Shil valley. This

includes the municipalities respectively villages of

Adliswil Adliswil is a town and a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The official language of Adliswil is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Ale ...

, Hirzel,

Horgen Horgen is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the municip ...

, Hütten, Kilchberg, Langnau am Albis, Oberrieden,

, Rüschlikon,

, Schönenberg, Sihlbrugg, Thalwil and

Wädenswil Wädenswil, locally often called ''Wädi'' or ''Wädischwil,'' is a municipality located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The population, , was about 21,000. On 1 January 2019 the former municipalities of Hü ...

Transportation

The lower Sihl valley has an excellent local transportation network: Zimmerberg bus line (''Zimmerbergbus'') and Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU) are providing the local public transportation in the Sihl valley, in addition to the Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg (LAF for short or commonly ''Felseneggbahn''), an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

connecting

and

. Sihlbrugg train station is a nodal point of the SBB-CFF-FFS- Gotthardbahn and Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn (SZU) railways. ''Sihlbrugg Dorf'' (Sihlwald) is the terminal station of the

Zürich S-Bahn The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glaru ...

on the line S4 (SZU) and a stop on the line S21 to

(VBZ). Nearby the city of Zürich, additional bus lines are provided by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich. It is also important as terminal of the A4 motorway between Zug and the canton of Zürich, and of five regional streets in the Sihltal to Zürich, Zug, Langnau am Albis and to Wädenswil (

Hirzel Pass Hirzel Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass in the Alps between the cantons of Zürich and Zug in Switzerland. It connects Wädenswil and Sihlbrugg, and the summit is in the municipality of Hirzel Hirzel is a former municipality in the d ...

References

External links

Region Zimmerberg-Sihltal
{{Coord, 47, 16, N, 8, 34, E, region:CH-ZH_type:mountain, display=title Landforms of the canton of Zürich Valleys of Switzerland Regions of Switzerland Sihl Landforms of the canton of Schwyz Landforms of the canton of Zug