ubac

plural ubacs

1. geographyThe shady side of a mountain; in the northern hemisphere, this is typically the north-facing slope.

   2 more examples

   The distribution of barley is generally on the adret slope, the ubac seeming to be disregarded. A sunny slope is the most important natural factor in the cultivation of barley and wheat. Very rarely they are cultivated in ubac fields, but close investigation showed them to be of secondary adret nature. In this case seeds are sown a month earlier and mown ten days later than on the adret slope.

   1942, Japanese Journal of Geology and Geography: Transactions, Titles and Abstracts, Tokyo: Nihon Gakujutsu Kaigi [Science Council of Japan], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 34

   Viticulure in an alpine (Savoie) or sub-alpine environment (like the Jura) is a precarious activity […] Exposure, by contrast, exaggerates or modifies the quantity of the altitudinal elements in terms of ubac (shady) versus adret (sunny) positions, wet and dry positions, or windy and protected positions, respectively. The advantages of adret slopes, which are usually drier and more protected, are evident and of paramount importance. Adret aspects receive much higher levels of direct sunlight, which produces higher soil and plant temperatures.

   1987, John J. Baxevanis, “The Wines of Savoie”, in The Wines of Champagne, Burgundy, Eastern and Southern France, Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, pages 70–71

   Antonyms: adret