Igloos and Other Arctic Quarters

by

Robert E. Peary

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Tonight, we’ll read about igloos and other polar quarters, from the book “Secrets of Polar Travel” written by Robert E. Peary and published in 1917.Although igloos, or snow shelters, are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canada's Central Arctic and a certain part of Greenland. Other Inuit tended to use snow to insulate their houses, which were constructed from whalebone and hides. Snow is used because the air pockets trapped in it make it an insulator. On the outside, temperatures may be as cold as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside, the temperature may get as warm as 16 °C or 61 °F when warmed by body heat alone.