The picture on the right was taken from the base of the outcrop. Here the actual height of the cliff can be seen. This rock on composed of another igneous flow that created columnar jointing. The pictures do not show the jointing well. The outcrop has vertical joints on the top then about halfway down, the joints start to angle away from the center of the flow.
Joints form perpendicular to direction of cooling.
Well, the flow filled in what used to be a valley or low point in the topography and the surrounding sides of the prehistoric valley eroded away leaving Battleship Rock. Our last stop for this page is Soda Dam Hot Springs. I'll give you a hint - think about how the previous stops were formed. Ok - The springs are the remnants of the heat from the volcano that formed the Valle Grande. The heat warms the rain and groundwater which then rises to the surface through either a fault in the rock or a ring fracture.