They actually start as compacted snow, which is far easier to cut and offers insulation. Thawing through interior heat and sunlight melts the surface, which re-freezes as ice, adding to the structure's strength. But beneath the ice layer the walls should still be dense snow.
Snow is the most readily available building material in arctic lands, and is relatively easy to cut and shape. It also provides a surprising degree of insulation against the elements, while icing of the internal and external surfaces through thawing and re-freezing adds greatly to the structure's resilience.
Igloos were originally made for hunters. But now people who live in Greenland, Antarctica, the North Pole and Siberia also live in igloos because of the brutal weather.
Igloos are made of ice because...
1. it is stronger
2. it is the only material if you are in the Arctic
3. even though ice is really cold it holds in warmth.
Because, given the scarcity of wood and the effort required to quarry rock, snow is by far the most convenient building material in the areas which Inuits (Eskimos) inhabit.
how am I supposed to know
For igloos, they used snow and ice. For tents, they used animal skin.
Animals do not build igloos, and to my knowledge, do not seek shelter in existing igloos. Plenty of animals do burrow in the snow however, or build dens such as polar bears.
Igloo's by definition are made out of snow no matter who makes them.
Igloos are built from large bricks cut from compacted snow, snow is easy to cut, and light-weight, it is easy to trim and form into the Igloo shape. Ice is very hard, very heavy and not easy to build with.
They used ice and snow! Hope you liked it!
For igloos, they used snow and ice. For tents, they used animal skin.
In the snow.
The Inuit would build their igloos from ice chunks from their houses. They would have utensils to build things.
ice and snow
An igloo is built using blocks of snow, and snow is naturally white.
a polo bear