How an igloo is built - a snow house in which the Eskimos live

Eskimos are representatives of the people living incold regions of Canada, USA and Russia. Their amazing lifestyle is described in many encyclopedias and documentaries, so everyone probably knows about the Eskimos. The main attribute of the Eskimo in the minds of many people is the igloo snow house, inside which you can hide from the harsh weather in Alaska, Chukotka and other cold corners of the planet. In fact, some representatives of this people have long lived in houses made of wood and other modern materials. But still no one forgets about the needle, because these buildings still save the lives of hunters and their families. Let's find out how the Eskimos build an igloo, how long it takes, and why it's warm inside like summer. It will be interesting - we found a lot of great photos.

The igloo is a very ancient structure that can save people from frost.

Content

• 1 Where do the Eskimos live?
• 2 How the igloo is arranged - the home of the Eskimos
• Why is the igloo not cold?
• 4 Life of people in the far north

Where do the Eskimos live?

When it comes to geographic location,Eskimos live in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, in the US state of Alaska, Greenland and the eastern edge of the Russian Chukotka. The number of Eskimos is estimated at 170 thousand people.

The culture of the Eskimos is fully adapted to life in the cold regions of the Earth. The vast majority of men are engaged in hunting sea animals such as seals, walruses and whales.

Many travelers are studying the culture of the Eskimos, so a lot of interesting things are known about them.

Eskimo women

Eskimo children

Some Eskimos live in relatively modern houses, but no one forgets about traditional dwellings. Given the resources, they build yarangas, which are fairly large houses covered in animal skins.

Yaranga Chukchi

But the easiest way to build a needle isdomed houses made of snow blocks. Inside they are so warm that even with a 40-degree frost, people inside can walk half-naked. Eskimos learn how to build an igloo from early childhood, so building a house for them is as easy as shelling pears. In just an hour of work, you can make a small igloo, and if you have time, people manage to build houses up to 2 meters high.

The igloo helps the Eskimos escape from the bitter cold

See also: Can humans live underground?

How the igloo is arranged - the home of the Eskimos

An igloo needs only snow to build, butspecial. Firstly, the Eskimos build houses mainly from snow that fell as a result of one snowfall - if it is heterogeneous, the building blocks may fall apart. Also, the snow must be stale so that the cold makes it durable. To understand whether snow is suitable for building an igloo, the Eskimos use the following method: a man in fur shoes takes a step into the snow, and if it does not fall through and the depth of the footprint is no more than 2 centimeters, this is excellent snow.

Eskimos have known how to build an igloo since childhood.

The igloo has a domed appearance, so the blocks forits constructions have different shapes and sizes. They are not molded, but cut out of the snow with a special knife. Sometimes cracks form on them, but they can be filled with loose snow - so the blocks become strong. Each "brick" weighs from 20 to 40 kilograms, and the length is from 50 to 100 centimeters.

Eskimos building an igloo in 1924

Usually the igloo is built using the spiral method.First, the Eskimos build a circle of large blocks - the construction goes clockwise so that over time the materials are installed at a large angle. So that the wind does not get inside the structure and the structure does not collapse, it is additionally covered with a layer of snow.

Igloo construction scheme

An igloo for one person has a diameter of 2.7 meters.The building for two people has a width of 3 meters, and for three people you need a room with a diameter of 3.4 meters. The height of the igloo can reach 3 meters or more - it is always different. The space inside the dwelling is necessary not only so that people can sit and lie comfortably, but also for proper air circulation. The entrance to the igloo is made in the form of a tunnel - ideally, it should be below the snow level. This is necessary to cleanse the needle of carbon dioxide and the flow of oxygen.

Eskimos inside an igloo

In general, inside the igloo is always comfortable

Sometimes the Eskimos build several igloos at once fordifferent families. In this case, they are interconnected by additional tunnels - so people can walk to each other without having to go out into the cold.

Life inside an igloo looks something like this

Sometimes entire settlements are assembled from igloos.

You will be interested: 5 heaviest snowfalls in modern history

Why is the igloo not cold?

Even if there is a 40-degree frost outside and it blowsstrong wind, warm inside the igloo - the air warms up to +16 degrees, but there is no wind. First of all, such conditions are created due to the absence of gaps in the structure. The heat of the human body plays a very important role in warming the room. The walls of the igloo are covered with a layer of ice, so that snow does not fall on people's heads. And finally, inside the igloo is heated by a fat lamp.

Woman with a baby inside an igloo

To make the inside of the igloo more comfortable, animal skins are laid on the floor

You can cook food inside the igloo

To create comfortable conditions inside, the Eskimos cover the floor with the skins of animals - sometimes they are even hung on the walls. Inside, you can take off all your heavy clothes and walk light.

Recommended reading: What is the secret of longevity of the citizens of the island of Okinawa, who live 100 years

Life of people in the far north

In general, the inhabitants of the cold regions of our planethave their own unique culture. For example, did you know that the inhabitants of Chukotka love stew made from moss extracted from the stomach of a deer? Do you know why the Chukchi do not save drowning people? You can find out the answers to these intriguing questions in this material.

You can tell a lot of interesting things about the culture of the inhabitants of the Far North

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Also, do not forget that the Chukchi are engaged inhunting for whales - the most dangerous fishery on the edge of the Earth. My colleague Andrei Zhukov spoke about this in more detail, I strongly recommend his material for reading. Here is the link.