Located in the Afambo woreda, part of the region's Awsi Rasu zone, the town has a latitude and longitude of 11°34′N 41°26′E / 11.567°N 41.433°E / 11.567; 41.433 and an elevation of 300 metres (980 ft).

To the southeast of Asaita, located at the southern edge of the Danakil Desert, are a group of twenty salt lakes which cover the territory to the border with neighboring Djibouti.

[13] In 1960 it was reported Aussa consisted of numerous clans with various origins, who each had a religious leader with the title Kabirto, Sharifa, Saido or Harara.

[5] In late June 1971 a fight during the market between the Afar and highland people left 16 workers dead and 34 wounded.

[5] In March 1975 the Derg nationalized all rural lands, including those of Ras Bitwoded Alimirah Hanfadhe, Sultan of the Afar.

Although the Ottaways note their sources agree that the ensuing two-day battle was a "massacre", they differ in the details: Jon Kalb, who was working in the Afar region at the time, provides a narrative which reconciles the two accounts.