Farallon Islands, also The Farallones, group of seven small, rocky islands and several islets, western California, in the Pacific Ocean, near San Francisco. On Southeast Farallon Island the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a lighthouse, with a radio beacon, a fog signal, and a light visible for about 42 km (about 26 mi). The Farallon Islands are rookeries for numerous sea birds. Rabbits abound on the islands, and sea lions gather on the shores. Early in the 19th century, Russian hunters from Bodega Bay exterminated the area's fur seals. In 1872 the Farallon Islands became part of the city and county of San Francisco and, in 1909, were made a federal bird sanctuary.