Site Selection

Part of Emergency Shelter

Choosing where to build is the single most important shelter decision — a great shelter in a bad location will get you killed.

Why Location Matters More Than Design

You can build the best debris hut ever constructed, but if you place it in a dry riverbed, a flash flood washes you away. If you build under a dead oak, a falling branch crushes you at 3 AM. If you pick a wind-exposed ridge, your body heat bleeds away faster than you can generate it.

Spend 15-30 minutes scouting before you commit. Walk a radius of 100-200 meters from your initial position. That time investment pays for itself many times over.

The Five-Factor Assessment

Evaluate every potential site against these five factors, in order of priority:

1. Safety From Natural Hazards

This is non-negotiable. Check for:

• Overhead dangers — Look up. Dead branches (“widow makers”), loose rock, coconuts, or leaning trees can fall without warning. Wind, rain, or temperature changes loosen things that looked stable in daylight. If anything above you looks questionable, move on.
• Flood risk — Never build in a dry riverbed, wash, gully, or the lowest point of a depression. Look for watermarks on rocks and tree trunks — staining, debris lines, or bark stripped at a consistent height tell you where water has reached before. It will reach there again.
• Avalanche and rockslide zones — In mountainous terrain, avoid the base of steep slopes with loose rock or snow above. Look for existing debris fields — scattered boulders and broken trees below a slope mean it has slid before.
• Animal hazards — Avoid game trails, animal dens, wasp nests, and anthills. Look for tracks, droppings, scratched bark, or worn paths. Building on an active animal highway invites confrontation.

Warning

Flash floods can occur miles from any rain you can see or hear. If the sky darkens upstream or you hear unusual rumbling, move to high ground immediately — even if your site seems dry.

2. Wind Protection

Wind is the primary enemy of body heat. Moving air strips warmth through convection far faster than still air. Ideal wind protection includes:

• Natural windbreaks — Dense evergreen stands, rock outcrops, hillsides, fallen logs, or embankments. Position your shelter on the leeward (downwind) side.
• Determining wind direction — Wet a finger and hold it up — the cool side faces the wind. Watch smoke, dust, grass, or leaf movement. Check prevailing wind by looking at tree growth patterns — trees lean away from dominant wind direction, and branches are fuller on the leeward side.
• Terrain wind effects — Cold air sinks at night (katabatic flow), pooling in valleys and low areas. Ridgetops get constant wind. The ideal spot is partway up a slope — above the cold air pool, below the exposed ridge. Roughly one-third of the way up a slope is often the sweet spot.

3. Drainage

Water must flow away from your shelter, not toward or under it.

• Slope — A gentle slope (5-15 degrees) drains water naturally. Flat ground pools water. Steep ground is uncomfortable and materials slide off.
• Soil type — Sandy or gravelly soil drains well. Clay holds water and becomes slippery mud. Dark, peaty soil stays damp. Dig a small test hole 15 cm deep — if water seeps in within a few minutes, the water table is too high.
• Micro-drainage — Look for small channels, rills, or depressions that carry water during rain. Even a barely visible low line becomes a stream in a downpour. Position your shelter to the side of these, never across or in them.

4. Resource Proximity

Your shelter site should be within reasonable distance of:

Resource	Ideal Distance	Why
Water source	50-200 m	Close enough to access easily, far enough to avoid flooding and cold air pooling near water at night
Firewood	Within 100 m	You will burn large quantities; hauling wood wastes energy
Building materials	Within 50 m	Carrying heavy branches long distances exhausts you before you even start building
Food sources	Within 500 m	Less critical than the others — you can survive days without food

Do not build directly beside a water source. Cold air sinks to water level at night, making streamside camps several degrees colder than sites 30-50 meters upslope. Riverbanks also flood.

5. Ground Conditions

You will sleep on this ground. It matters.

• Level enough to lie flat — A slight slope is fine (sleep with your head uphill), but you should not be rolling or sliding.
• Free of rocks, roots, and stumps — Clear the ground or choose a spot that does not need much clearing.
• Dry — Avoid ground that is damp, boggy, or covered in moss (moss often indicates persistent moisture). Scrape away surface debris and feel the soil underneath.
• Not compacted clay — Clay is cold, hard, and waterproof in the wrong direction (it traps water under you rather than letting it drain).

Seasonal Adjustments

Season	Priority Adjustment
Winter	Maximize sun exposure (south-facing in Northern Hemisphere). Wind protection is critical. Avoid valley floors where cold air pools.
Summer	Prioritize shade and ventilation over wind protection. Stay near water. Avoid west-facing slopes that bake in afternoon sun.
Rainy season	Drainage becomes the top priority. Elevate your site. Double-check for flood indicators.
Shoulder seasons	Watch for temperature swings — a site that is comfortable at noon may be brutally cold or windy at 3 AM.

The Quick Site Check (Under 5 Minutes)

When time is critical and you cannot do a full assessment, run through this checklist:

1. Look up — anything that can fall on you? Move if yes.
2. Look down — standing water, riverbed, lowest point? Move if yes.
3. Feel the wind — can you get out of it? Turn your back to it and look for shelter on the downwind side of whatever is nearby.
4. Scan for flat ground — big enough to lie down on?
5. Check for materials — sticks, leaves, branches within arm’s reach? If you have to walk far to find building materials, you picked the wrong spot.

If a site passes all five, start building. You can always improve later.

Common Site Selection Mistakes

• Choosing the first flat spot — Flat is not enough. Flat and low means flooding. Flat and exposed means wind. Take five more minutes to check.
• Building too close to a fire ring — If you build a fire, keep it 1-2 meters from your shelter. Closer risks sparks catching debris-covered shelters on fire. Farther wastes heat.
• Ignoring animal signs — That nice flat area under the overhang may already belong to something. Fresh droppings, claw marks, hair on rocks, or strong animal smell all mean move on.
• Picking a site in daylight that fails at night — Wind shifts, cold air pools form, and animals become active after dark. If possible, arrive at your site with 3+ hours of daylight to observe conditions before committing.

Key Takeaways

• Safety from overhead and flood hazards is the top priority — no shelter design can fix a dangerous location.
• The ideal position is one-third of the way up a slope: above cold air pooling, below wind-exposed ridges, with natural drainage.
• Stay 50-200 meters from water — close enough to access, far enough to avoid flooding and cold air.
• Spend 15-30 minutes scouting; that investment saves hours of misery and potentially your life.
• When time is critical, use the five-point quick check: look up, look down, feel wind, find flat ground, confirm materials nearby.