The ridge extends away from its northern part, east-facing sea cliffs, south by 55 km (34 mi), there turning increasingly east.

They settled in ancient village of Mulabbis, and lived there for several generations until the establishment of Petah Tikva, the first Zionist colony, in 1878.

That year, during the Italo-Turkish War, an Anglo-Egyptian force took over it, relieving its garrison, to prevent it from falling into Italian hands.

When the border between Italian Libya and Egypt was settled by treaty in 1925, Sallum was placed on the Egyptian side.

[4] In December 1941, during Operation Crusader in World War II (and the two other operations affecting nearby Halfaya Pass), Sallum was the location of fighting between the British Empire with allied Commonwealth forces against German with Italian forces; the latter were retreating from gains they had made deeper into Egypt.

However, typically for the northern coast, Sallum has its temperatures moderated by blowing winds from the Mediterranean Sea.