Quinzhee vs. Igloo — What's the Difference?

A quinzhee or quinzee is a Canadian snow shelter made from a large pile of loose snow that is shaped, then hollowed. This is in contrast to an igloo, which is built up from blocks of hard snow, and a snow cave, constructed by digging into the snow.

An igloo (Inuit languages: iglu, Inuktitut syllabics ᐃᒡᓗ [iɣˈlu] (plural: igluit ᐃᒡᓗᐃᑦ [iɣluˈit])), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of snow, typically built when the snow is suitable. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit and Eskimo peoples, they were traditionally used only by the people of Canada's Central Arctic and Greenland's Thule area.

(Canada) A shelter made by hollowing out a pile of snow.

A house made of blocks of snow, such as those built by the Inuit.

A dome-shaped structure or building.

A dome-shaped Inuit shelter, constructed of blocks cut from snow.

(zoology) A cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the sea ice.

(military) A reinforced bunker for the storage of nuclear weapons.

(logistics) A kind of airfreight cargo container.

An Eskimo snow house.

A cavity, or excavation, made in the snow by a seal, over its breathing hole in the ice.

An Eskimo hut; usually built of blocks (of sod or snow) in the shape of a dome