El Farallón forms part of the coastal landscape of Sardina de Gáldar. Gran Canaria Tourism identifies it as Roque Farallón or Roque Partido in its account of this coastline. [1]
Its history is also that of a retreating coast. A geological study from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria explains Farallón as an erosional remnant isolated by cliff retreat. The same process has formed abrasion platforms, channels and caves around Sardina. [2]
The formation belongs to a coastline of Middle Pleistocene volcanic materials, with lava flows, dykes and pyroclastic deposits. In its southern view of the bay, the study shows the Farallón monolith alongside lava cliffs with columnar jointing: the landscape brings together traces of volcanism and marine erosion. [2]