An igloo, also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canadas Central Arctic and the Qaanaaq area of Greenland. Outside Inuit culture, however, igloo refers exclusively to shelters constructed from blocks of compacted snow, generally in the form of a dome. There are three traditional types of igloos, all of different sizes and used for different purposes:
- The smallest are constructed as temporary shelters, usually only used for one or two nights so they are easier to build. On rare occasions, these are built and used during hunting trips, often on open sea ice.
- The intermediate size is a permanent structure, built by families during the winter months, and used as a base camp for hunting and travel.
- The largest igloos were normally built in groups of two or more, connected by tunnels. These were used as winter houses for several families or as a place for community gatherings.
Architecturally, the igloo is unique in that it is a dome that can be raised out of independent blocks leaning on each other and polished to fit without an additional supporting structure during construction. An igloo that is built correctly will support the weight of a person standing on the roof. The majority of igloos are still made out of snow, however, it’s not the snow that’s just settled on the ground as this isn’t strong enough. You would need to use snow that has been on the ground longer which is below the soft, powdery new snow. This is much firmer, like the snow you’d use to shape into a snowman or snowball, and you can cut it into large snow blocks to build your igloo. The hard snow walls of the igloo are good insulators that keep in body heat and the heat generated by oil lamps (known as qulliq.) This is why traditional igloos are made out of snow rather than ice. Solid ice does not retain heat as well as blocks of compressed snow.
