It is located 45 nautical miles (83 km) north of Saipan and is the smallest island in the archipelago (not counting the Zealandia Bank).

[2][3] Uninhabited at the time, later archaeological investigations have found blackened caves and pottery fragments indicating prior habitation by the Chamorros.

[4][better source needed] Spain ceded Farallón de Medinilla to Germany through the German–Spanish Treaty (1899), together with the rest of the Mariana Islands (except Guam).

A subsequent court ruling ordered the U.S. Defense Department to cease bombing exercises on Farallon de Medinilla until they came in compliance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

[5] Negative impacts of military activities on local fauna and flora, including terrestrial and oceanic species, have been pointed out.