Introduction
All over the world there are different kinds of houses. In places with a lot of water people live in houses on stilts or in houseboats. Other people live in houses which can be moved from place to place. In places where it rains or snows a lot such as Switzerland or Nepal people build their homes with sloping roofs. Where it is hot and people want to keep cool they build houses with small windows. Some people live in very unusual houses like the ones below.
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Houses in Different Climates
Houses in Cold Weather
Houses in mountainous places where it snows often have sloping roofs so too much snow doesn't collect on the roof and collapse the house. But some snow on the roof helps to keep the heat inside from escaping. In other areas the house and the barn are attached. Often the people live upstairs and the heat from the animals rises to help heat their houses. Some Scandinavian nomadic peoples build their tents with wool and cover them with fur.
Keeping Cool When It's Hot
In the tropics houses are often built near water and have small doors and windows which stop some of the heat from coming into the house. In some hot climates, people paint their houses white to refelct the sun's rays while in other places shutters are used to keep the heat out during the hottest part of the day.
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Houses on Water
There are houses on stilts and houseboats. The Madan people of S. Iraq build their houses out of reeds. Because the reed rots, they have to rebuild their homes regularly. Some people in Hong Kong live in houseboats. If a lot of houseboats are in one area this can make a kind of floating village. The city of Venice is made up of floating islands in the Mediterranean sea--so many people take boats to get to their houses.
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