Because the two major depression valleys are the Falcón and the Lara, the mountains are sometimes called the Falcón-Lara ranges.

The Tocuyo river crosses the ecoregion called the Lara Falcón Dry Forest.

With the exception of the Siquisique highlands (which are an igneous remnant of Jurassic age), the rocks are Cenozoic, mostly 30 to 70 m.y.o., (Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene), overlaid by some Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial deposits.

There are some oil deposits, but mainly the population relies on subsistence farming with some cattle grazing.

The dry climate is not conducive to commercial agriculture, but there are some aloe vera plantations.