[1] The island has experienced a rifting process since the lower Miocene,[3] and is characterized by a significant presence of basalt materials.

[4] It is the result of a number of craters forming a chain, and its shape resembles the halve of an ellipse with an average diameter of 1 km, with two main elevations.

The snakes were endemic to the islands, and the archipelago's original names (Ophiusa or Columbraria) were given by Greek and Roman sailors due to the abundance of reptiles.

In 1895, Ludwig Von Salvator published his book Columbretes, the world's first account of the island's flora and fauna.

The Columbretes islands were declared a natural park by the Council of the Generalitat Valenciana through the 15/1988 decree of 25 January,[8] and a Marine Reserve of more than 4.400 hectares by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food through the Ministerial Order of 19 April 1990.