Surrounding Cham, Steinhausen is to the east, Hünenberg is to the west, Lake Zug is south, and Maschwanden and Knonau in the Canton of Zürich are to the north.

Cham also includes a number of smaller villages; Enikon, Lindencham, Friesencham, Hagendorn, Rumentikon, Niederwil, Oberwil and Bibersee.

Of the rest of the land, 21.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

The city's name, Cham, means 'village' and refers to a large Celtic settlement on the shore of Lake Zug.

The Habsburgs had pawned the town to a citizen of Zürich, Götz Mülner, and so Zug was not able to completely own the city until the loan was repaid in 1415.

In the 16th century, the reform-minded preacher Jost Müller unsuccessfully attempted to bring the Reformation to Cham.

Following the 1798 invasion of Switzerland and the collapse of the Old Swiss Confederacy, Cham finally became an independent town; although the citizens still paid some taxes and tithes to Zug until 1816 when most were abolished and 1872 when the last one ended.

The rapid industrialization of the second half of the 19th century caused a population boom in Cham and the surrounding villages.

A goal of the planning was to maintain the character of the industrial part of the city, becoming a center for the surrounding villages and preserve the parkland along the lake.

[7] This small town has its own medical clinic, institutions for primary and secondary education, kindergarten and a public green with sports facilities available all year round.

Cham also provides visitors and residents alike with hotel services, congress hall, churches (Roman Catholic and Reformed), a marina, and a castle (St. Andreas).

These include the Eslen, a Neolithic lake shore settlement, the church and Cistercian convent at Frauenthal, the Castle of St. Andreas, two buildings in the old city, and the brickyard.

The Swiss Federal Railways line from Luzern through Thalwil to Zürich occasionally stops in Cham.

In 1866, the American Page family founded the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in Cham to take advantage of this new rail line.

Following World War I, the company faced financial crisis and began to shut down production in Cham.