History
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. 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, 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.References
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