Igloos are dome shaped dwellings that are made from packed snow cut into blocks with a large knife.
Igloo
Igloos are dome shaped dwellings that are made from
packed snow cut into blocks with a large knife. A typical igloo was
usually 9 to 15 feet in diameter. An igloo could be built by two people
in a few hours. Everything inside an igloo was made of snow including
storage shelves and sleeping quarters. A shelf of snow covered with
animal skins provided a warm bed. The inside walls of the igloo were
usually lined with old seal skins to catch any drips created by the
soapstone lamp which provided light, a source of heat, as well as to
cook and dry wet clothes. In fact, the insides of an igloo could become
quite warm despite the freezing cold outside. Igloos were not year
around homes and were used only in the coldest areas of the far north.
In the short spring and summer the Inuit people living in these most
remote areas lived in tents made from animal hides.
