An igloo (

Inuit languages The Inuit languages are a closely related group of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and the adjacent subarctic regions as far south as Labrador. The Inuit ...

: ,

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...

(plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

. Although igloos are often associated with all

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canada's Central Arctic and the

Qaanaaq Qaanaaq (), formerly known as New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditiona ...

area of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

. Other Inuit tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from

whalebone Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and ...

and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as low as , but on the inside, the temperature may range from when warmed by

body heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

alone.

Nomenclature

In the

, the word (plural ) can be used for a house or home built of any material. The word is not restricted exclusively to snowhouses (called specifically , plural ), but includes traditional tents,

sod house The sod house or soddy was a common alternative to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the Great Plains of North America in the 1800s and early 1900s. Primarily used at first for animal shelters, corrals, and fences, they came into use ...

s, homes constructed of

driftwood Driftwood is a wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach of a sea, lake, or river by the action of winds, tides or waves. It is part of beach wrack. In some waterfront areas, driftwood is a major nuisance. However, the driftwood provides ...

and modern buildings. Outside

Inuit culture The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America (parts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland). The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat (northern Alaska), and Yupik peoples, Yup ...

, however, ''igloo'' refers exclusively to shelters constructed from blocks of compacted snow, generally in the form of a dome. Several

Inuit language The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and the adjacent subarctic regions as far south as Labrador. The Inuit languages are one of the two branche ...

dialects throughout the

Canadian Arctic Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...

( Sallirmiutun (Siglitun),

Inuinnaqtun Inuinnaqtun (, ; natively meaning 'like the real human beings/peoples') is an Inuit language. It is spoken in the central Canadian Arctic. It is related very closely to Inuktitut, and some scholars, such as Richard Condon, believe that Inuinna ...

Natsilingmiutut Natchilingmiutut (ᓇᑦᕠᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ), Netsilik , Natsilik, Nattilik, Netsilingmiut, Natsilingmiutut, Nattilingmiutut, or Nattiliŋmiutut is an Inuit language variety spoken in western Nunavut, Canada, by Netsilik Inuit. ( 'people fr ...

, Kivalliq, North Baffin) use for all buildings, including snowhouses, and it is the term used by the

government of Nunavut The Government of Nunavut ( Inuinnaqtun ''Nunavut Kavamanga''; ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. In modern Canadian use, the term ''Government of Nunavut'' refers specifically to the executi ...

. An exception to this is the dialect used in the

Igloolik Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be o ...

region of

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. is used for other buildings, while (plural , Inuktitut syllabics: ) is specifically used for a snowhouse.

Types

There are three traditional types of igloos. Each has a different size from small to large and is used for a different purpose. The smallest-sized igloos are constructed as temporary shelters. They are usually used for one or two nights, and therefore, are easier to build. On rare occasions, these small types of igloos are used during hunting trips which are often on open

sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...

. Intermediate-sized igloos were for semi-permanent, family dwelling. This was usually a single room dwelling that housed one or two families. Often there were several of these in a small area, which formed an Inuit village. The largest-sized igloos were normally built in groups of two. One of the buildings was a temporary structure built for special occasions, while the other one was built nearby for living. These large igloos could have up to five rooms and house 20 people. A large igloo could be constructed from several smaller igloos attached by their tunnels, giving common access to the outside. These large igloos were used to hold community feasts and traditional dances.

Construction

Snow igloos are not spherical, but are built in a

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

, a curved shape more closely resembling a

paraboloid In geometry, a paraboloid is a quadric surface that has exactly one axial symmetry, axis of symmetry and no central symmetry, center of symmetry. The term "paraboloid" is derived from parabola, which refers to a conic section that has a similar p ...

. Using this shape, the stresses of snow as it ages and compresses are less likely to cause it to buckle because in an inverted paraboloid or catenoid the pressures are nearer to being exclusively compressive. The individual snow bricks are cut out of the ground with saws and machete-like blades. They are originally cut out in a four-sided shape. However, later the snow bricks are often cut into five- or six-sided shapes to increase structural interlocking, similar to the stones used in the architecture of the Inca Empire. Igloos gradually become shorter with time due to the compressive creep of the snow.

Building methods

The snow used to build an igloo must have enough structural strength to be cut and stacked appropriately. The best snow to use for this purpose is snow which has been blown by wind, which can serve to compact and interlock the

ice crystal Ice crystals are solid water (known as ice) in symmetrical shapes including hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, and dendritic crystals. Ice crystals are responsible for various atmospheric optical displays and cloud formations. Formation ...

s. Snow that has settled gently to the ground in still weather is not useful. The hole left in the snow, where the blocks are cut, is usually used as the lower half of the shelter. Snow's insulating properties enable the inside of the igloo to remain relatively warm. In some cases, a single block of clear freshwater ice is inserted to allow light into the igloo. Igloos used as winter shelters had beds made of loose snow, skins, and

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

furs. Sometimes, a short tunnel is constructed at the entrance, to reduce wind and heat loss when the door is opened. Animal skins or a snow block can be used as a door. The igloo is architecturally 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. Traditionally, an igloo might be deliberately consolidated immediately after construction by making a large flame with a (, stone lamp), briefly making the interior very hot, which causes the walls to melt slightly and settle. (a Norwegian observer's account of the building a family's winter igloo, not a short-term hunting one, by Atikleura and Nalungia, Netsilik Inuit) Body heat is also adequate, although slower. This melting and refreezing builds up a layer of ice that contributes to the strength of the igloo. File:Igloo see-through sideview diagram.svg, An igloo side view diagram; opening to the right, the optional window may be composed of a sheet of freshwater ice File:Igloo spirale.svg, An igloo's snowbrick laying method The sleeping platform is a raised area. With warmer air rising and cooler air settling, the entrance area acts as a

cold trap In vacuum applications, a cold trap is a device that condenses all vapors except the permanent gases (hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen) into a liquid or solid. The most common objective is to prevent vapors being evacuated from an experiment from ...

whereas the sleeping area will hold whatever heat is generated by a stove, lamp, body heat, or other device. The Central Inuit, especially those around the

Davis Strait The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...

, lined the living area with skin, which could increase the temperature within from around to . File:Igloo building in Sarek.png, Process of building an igloo with snowbrick method in mid-way File:igloo.jpg, A nearly complete, medium-sized igloo, with excavation under the door and the exterior unfinished File:Igloo interior.JPG, Interior of an igloo, facing the passageway leading to the entrance

References

External links

* How to Build an Igloo (wikiHow) {{Authority control Buildings and structures made of snow or ice Indigenous architecture House types Snow Inuit culture Culture of Greenland Igloo Native American architecture Huts Traditional Native American dwellings