I-n-Azaoua was a crude, French colonial-era redoubt built in February 1899^[1] alongside an established well, three kilometres south of the current border line between Algeria and Niger.

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I-n-Azaoua
Important old sign 95km south of Tamanrasset on the main southbound In Guezzam route, indicating the fork heading ESE for I-n Azaoua well.
I-n-Azaoua Location in Niger
Coordinates: 20°48′30″N 7°27′30″E
Country	Niger
Region	Agadez Region
Department	Arlit Department
Elevation	1,670 ft (510 m)
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)

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During the French colonisation of north and west Africa, the Foureau-Lamy Mission of 1898-1900 constructed a small redoubt 800 metres from the well.^[2] The 1972 Institut géographique national NG-32-II map indicates water at a depth of 6 metres. Once the easier trans-Sahara crossing via In Guezzam was established in the 1960s,^[3] this remote 720-km track between Tamanrasset and Iferouane in Niger's northern Aïr Mountains became even less frequently used. As tourism grew in the 1970s, the remote Algerian part of the route to I-n Azaoua was closed by Algerian authorities and an important sign was erected 95 km south of Tamanrasset on the main In Guezzam route at the fork leading ESE for I-n Azaoua. Until that time, some travellers had mistakenly taken the I-n Azaoua route and perished.