[2] The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Tödi at 3,614 metres above sea level.

[2] The Seedamm, an artificial causeway and bridge, crosses the narrowest point of the lake at the level of the Hurden Peninsula, carrying a railway line and road from Rapperswil to Pfäffikon.

West of the Seedamm lie the small islands of Lützelau and Ufenau, where in 1523 Ulrich von Hutten took refuge and died.

To the east, separated by Zürichberg-Adlisberg, Forch, and Pfannenstiel, are two smaller lakes, Greifensee (lit.

On the west shore (which gradually becomes the south shore) are Kilchberg, Rüschlikon, Thalwil, Oberrieden, Horgen, Au, Wädenswil and Richterswil in the canton of Zurich, and Freienbach, Pfäffikon, Hurden, Altendorf, Lachen, Nuolen and Tuggen in the canton of Schwyz.

The latter includes the medieval town of Rapperswil, whose castle is home to the Polish museum, and the coastal villages of Kempraten, Busskirch and Bollingen.

The municipalities of Rapperswil-Jona and Schmerikon, which is close to the east end of the lake, are both in the canton of St. Gallen.

[5][6] These nine sites on the Lake Zurich lakeshore are Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn, Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach, Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum, Erlenbach–Winkel, Meilen–Rorenhaab, Wädenswil–Vorder Au, Zurich–Enge Alpenquai, and Kleiner Hafner.

The main transportation nodes around the lake are Zurich and — given the presence of the Seedamm causeway — Pfäffikon and Rapperswil.

On the eastern side, the VZO provides bus services along the lake shore and to the Zürcher Oberland.

At the northern end of the lake, in Zurich, public transport consists of trams, trolleybuses and busses of VBZ.

Left bank: The towns on the western and southern shores of Lake Zurich are linked by the Lake Zurich left bank railway line, which connects Zürich HB with Ziegelbrücke.

The Rapperswil–Ziegelbrücke railway line along the northern shore of Obersee is served by St. Gallen S-Bahn services S4, S6 and S17, and the Voralpen Express.

The freezing of Lake Zurich, called Seegfrörni in Swiss German, is a rare and spectacular event.