ubac

Noun

ubac (plural ubacs)

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