Suitable shelters for every weather condition

The path to a succesful Survival is not doing random stuff that you see in movies, and also doesn't necessarily mean you are going to end up emaciated and half dead before you stumble across civilization or waiting for the arrival of a rescue team. It requires careful planning and proper use of your knowledge and judgement. Such as setting a suitable shelter.

Warm Desert
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The Purpose of this shelter is to provide protection from the main threats in a warm desert: The sun's heat and sandstorms. First, wait up until temperature is fresh enough to be bearable, then begin to dig in orderto make a ditch that fits your size. Second, grab a long fabric or anything that provides coverage and put it over the ditch. Third and finally, hold your cover with rocks or bricks to prevent the wind blows away the fabric cover.

Cold places and mountainous tundra
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A shelter is a key element of survival on cold places. The main purpose for these shelters is to retain heat as much as possible. Therefore it should be fairly small and without access to cold currents.

Makeshift snow cave: the second best shelter you can make to survive a tundra. Grab a shovel or something similar and dig a thick layer of snow until you create a small cave with a bed at least 40 cm above the soil level, now from the cave's ceiling, make a small crevice to allow an enough amount of air inside (obviously this is made to prevent suffocation). Now seal up the entrance and light a candle or something that could provide a heat source.

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Snow Trench: When there is not enough snow to dig for a makeshift cave. It's possible to make a trench and seal it with compacted snow or anything nearby.

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Makeshift wood shed shelter: When there is not much snow, but plenty of wood, We can build a classic shed with the inclined side pointing towards the direction of the wind. We could make a bonfire and place logs or rocks aside to reflect the heat toward us.

Tropical Jungle
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Due to the abundance of insects, specially botflies and mosquitoes, any person venturing the jungle should include in his/her luggage a mosquito net fabric,a hammock or several fabrics. A makeshift roof over your hammock or bed will protect you from the rain.

Shelter made with branches and leaf coverage: Suitable for rain protection. Also you can entirely cover your shelter with a mosquito netting fabric if available.

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Well, these were some simple yet effective shelters for different environments. Do you know any other?

 

Gee, what a great post complete with images. I wonder how people can cope in that shelter when there is snow. I was born and raised in a tropical country and it was only last year when I experienced zero degree temperature in Beijing, China. Now I am imagining myself in that makeshift shelter, it's fine when it is cold but when there is snow and the temperature drops to zero degree, I guess I cannot survive.

In the tropics, our usual recourse is the lean-to. When there is bamboo, mountain people would make bamboo strips to be used in weaving a bamboo matting which is the roof. It is installed beside a big rock to protect them not only from the rains but it is also a good resting place when the sun is shining hot. Rural folks use that lean-to when they are in their farms in the mountains. And since it is easy to make, I would go for that. However, the main material which is bamboo is not always available to there would be a problem with that. In dire need, small branches and twigs can be cut into sticks and be made into a matting in place of the bamboo.

 

You would be amazed. The great things about our bodies is that while we can not handle extreme low or high temperatures, our bodies can still adapt to reasonable temperatures provided you help it. Maybe if you wear an extra layer or something, you might feel a bit cold, however, your body will manage to survive until you find something better. As for the post itself, I actually enjoyed it a bit and even recognized one of the shelters in those pictures in a small forest I usually jog at nearby my home.

 

Whoa. Those are outstanding quality images Keith. A cave, a hollow tree trunk, a wood shed shelter and even one made with solidified sun dry mud or clay. Human creativy is a huge factor that allow us to thrive against all odds.

 

I heard the saying, "necessity is the mother of invention". When presented with such situations, we tend to expand and evolve into actions that we might not often commit because it's necessary to thrive. Regarding the pictures, they're quite beautiful and can be recreated without needing a lot of materials which are relatively easy to come by anyways.

 

Earth has always been the best bet against the heat and cold. The best natural insulator. The deeper a cave gets the cooler it is.

I've watched several survival show over the years and the most successful participants are those that had used hillside and caves as shelter. These make shift shelters do work for a particular time, but eventually they will succumb to mother nature and the elements.

I'm current in the market looking for a underground preppers style bunker. I think it would be cool to live in one.