The Albis is a chain of hills in the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, stretching for some 19 km from

Sihlbrugg Sihlbrugg is a village and important transportation node between the cantons of Zug (ZG) and Zürich (ZH) in Switzerland. Geography Sihlbrugg is located in the Sihl Valley, at a point where the Sihl river is bridged by the road between Zug ...

in the south to Waldegg near

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

in the north. The chain forms, among others, the border between the Affoltern and

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 municipal ...

districts. The best known point is Uetliberg at 870 m, overlooking the city of Zürich. Other points of interest include the Albishorn (909m.) the Bürglen (also known as Bürglenstutz, the highest peak, 914.6m.), the Schnabelburg, an observation tower, the

Albis Pass Albis Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass in the Albis range in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. It connects Langnau am Albis with the small village of Türlen on the Türlersee and, further on, Aeugst am Albis, Hausen am Albis, Mettmenstetten and ...

, the small town of Buechenegg, and the extensive woods (known as the Sihlwald forest) on both sides of the river

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 ...

. The

Sihl Valley Sihl Valley (German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the ...

borders the Albis chain on its entire east side. On the west side, the Albis is bordered by various streams (including the

Reppisch The Reppisch is a river in Switzerland. It rises in the Türlersee and joins the Limmat as its tributary, near the town of Dietikon. The Reppisch flows in the Säuliamt (Affoltern district), canton of Zürich, an area featuring still partially ...

) and one lake, the

Türlersee Türlersee is a lake in the district of Affoltern, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. It lies on the border of the municipalities of Aeugst and Hausen am Albis at an elevation of 643 m. The lake has an area of 0.49 km² (maximum length 1.4 km, ...

. The chain is mostly wooded, but also has extensive fields, often reaching to the summit, some cultivated, some used as pastures for cows or sheep. Being very near Zürich, the area is heavily visited, especially near its northern end, and includes many restaurants along the summit (from Uetliberg to Albishorn), well-maintained trails and dirt roads, a railroad (the

Uetlibergbahn The Uetliberg railway line (german: Uetlibergbahn) is a passenger railway line which runs from the central station in the Swiss city of Zürich () through the city's western outskirts to the summit of the Uetliberg. The route serves as line S10 ...

) from Zürich, and a cable car ( Felseneggbahn) from

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 Alem ...

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 hilltop ...

. The Albis chain was 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 glacier the bed of which is now

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 ...

. The soil is mostly a conglomerate of gravel, some of it large, and glacial

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...

. The frequently steep sides of the chain are often subject to small

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environmen ...

s. As a generalization, the eastern side of the chain (overlooking Lake Zürich) tends to be steeper than the western side. The hilltops of the Albis provided several good defensive sites, and were the locations of the castles of Uetliberg, Baldern and Schnabelburg, all of which are now ruined or lost.

Picture gallery

Albis - Balderen IMG 3281.jpg, Hiking trail from

to Uetliberg as seen near ''Balderen''. File:Zürich - Fallätsche IMG 0202.JPG, So called ''Fallätsche'' at Zürich- Leimbach,

Wollishofen Wollishofen is a neighbourhood in Zürich's 2nd district. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1893. The neighbourhood has a population of 15,592 distributed on an area of 5.75 km2. Geography ...

quarter in the foreground. Zürich-Leimbach-Sihltal - Käferberg IMG 2374.JPG,

Leimbach (Zürich) Leimbach () is a quarter in the district 2 in Zürich. It is located in the lower Sihl Valley (''Sihltal''). It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1893. The quarter has a population of 5,185 as of Dec ...

, lower

Sihltal Sihl Valley (German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the ar ...

and Albis hills, as seen from

Käferberg Käferberg (el. ) and Waidberg (el. ) are the summits of a wooded mountain respectively chain of hills overlooking the inner city of Zürich, Zürichsee, Albis chain and Uetliberg, as well as the Limmat Valley and the Zürcher Unterland in Sw ...

Albis Hochwacht panorama 20200110.jpg, 360° panorama from Albis Hochwacht {{Authority control Landforms of the canton of Zürich Mountain ranges of Switzerland