The Töss is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...

(). It starts at ''Tössscheidi'', the confluence of the Vordertöss and Hindertöss (whose sources are in the canton of St. Gallen), passes through

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

's Töss and Wülflingen districts and ends at near Freienstein-Teufen. Two of its main tributaries are the Kempt and Eulach.

Geography

Tössscheidi

The confluecne of the ''Vordertöss'' and ''Hintertöss'' is called ''Tössscheidi'' (), which is located at a.s.l. on the border between the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Wald __NOTOC__ Wald is the German word for forest. Surname * Wald (surname) Places Austria * Wald am Schoberpass, in Styria * Wald im Pinzgau, in Salzburger Land Germany * Wald, Baden-Württemberg * Wald, Upper Palatinate, in the district of Cham, ...

and Fischenthal. The confluence lies west of the Dägelschberg (), east of the Hüttchopf (), and north of the Tössstock ()).

Vordertöss

The ''Vordertöss'', or ''Vordere Töss'' (), originates in the canton of St. Gallen. Its source lies south of the Tössstock, on the northern faces of Schwarzenberg () and

Höchhand The Höchhand (1,314 m) is a mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a li ...

(). It circumvents the Tössstock on its western flank before reaching ''Tössscheidi''.

Hintertöss

The ''Hindertöss'', or ''Hintere Töss'' (), is the longer of the two tributaries. Its source also lies in the canton of St. Gallen but close to the border with the canton of Zurich. The sources is located below Schindelegg () and the southern faces of Schindelberghöchi () and Dägelschberg. The ''Hintertoss affluent ''Chreuelbach'' originates below Höchhand, on the western faces of the Habrütispitz () and Rossegg (). The ''Hintertöss'' passes Tössstock on its northern hillside before joining the ''Vordertöss'' at ''Tössscheidi''.

Course of the Töss

Starting at ''Tössscheidi'', the Töss flows towards north. It meets the main valley of its own name, Töss Valley (), just south of Steg (the

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

between the rivers Töss and Jona is nearby at Gibswil). From Steg, the river turns west, flows through Bauma and then turns north again. West of the village of

Turbenthal Turbenthal is a municipality in the district of Winterthur located in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Turbenthal has an area of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.6% is forested. Of the rest of ...

it runs towards west again, and the valley gets even more ragged than before. Between Steg and Sennhof, the river is followed by the Töss Valley Railway line. The Töss continues south of Eschenberg mountain,

's '' Hausberg'', before reaching its confluence with the River Kempt. Below, it traverses the city's most western part, just northeast of the ''Töss'', a city mountain. After joining the River Eulach on the western end of Winterthur, the Töss continues for about in a more or less westnorthwestern direction and finally joins the

at ''Tössegg'', west of Teufen. Although the High Rhine flows in a mostly westward direction, it flows southward between

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

and ''Tössegg''. At ''Tössegg'', the Rhine bends sharply towards northwest, passing the village of Tössriederen, and continues westwards again before flowing through Eglisau. The mouth of the Töss lies just a few kilometers south of the mouth of the River Thur. A few kilometers downstream, the River Glatt flows into the High Rhine.

Name

The River Töss was first mentioned around 1483 (, ). Its name probably derives from the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

verb ''tosen'' (). Related

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s are documented earlier, such as ''Tössegg'' (''locum dictum Tossegge'', 1216), ''Tössriederen'' (''apud Tossriedern'', 1277), and the name "Tösser" (''dicti Tösserre'', 1267)..

Gallery

Feldweg-Furt über die Hintere Töss, Hintergoldingen SG 20220517-jag9889.jpg, ''Hintertöss'' Vordere Töss-Wasserfall II bei Wald.jpg, Waterfall of ''Vordertöss'' Wasserfall Lauf ZH.jpg, Waterfall below ''Tössscheidi'' Töss Bauma.JPG, Töss near Bauma Töss Wasserfälle Winterthur Bild 1.jpg, Waterfall near Wülflingen Tössegg.jpg, Tössegg, confluence of Töss and High Rhine

External links

Restaurant Tössegg

References

Rivers of Switzerland Rivers of the canton of Zürich {{Switzerland-river-stub