Solid -- Dramatic
 
This is one for the rockhounds who need rocks to polish and make things. 
 
One of the prettiest rocks to be found in south east Utah is known by the horrible name, Pigeon Blood agate. I have no idea who thought up that name but I wish they had picked something more appealing.
 
Pigeon Blood agate is very popular because of the beauty of the agate. This dark variety is also known to be solid and easier to work with.  I wrote an essay at the KinesavaROCKS blog all about three types of Utah Pigeon Blood Agate. You can read it at ... Three Agates in One.
 
You can cut and polish this rock with a smaller rocksaw. You don't need a professional rig to get great results. Or ... You can carve it with a rotary tool like a Dremel tool. If you decide to do that, please send pictures of your creation!  I'd love to feature it here.
 
Agate on the Utah desert often gets a thin coating of something called "Desert Varnish" just from being there on the desert. You can read more about it at Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_varnish   It looks different on different rocks. On Pigeon Blood agate, it's black and slightly transparent, probably because it's a very thin layer. But the bottom line is that it makes the whole rock look black ... when it's not. This type of Pigeon Blood agate is dark, but not as dark as desert varnish makes it look. I magnified a section of the surface of this rock to prove that the beutiful red markings really are there.
 
One thing that is not there is cracks. This type of Pigeon Blood agate has the advantage that it doesn't have a lot of cracks. (The translucent type DOES crack pretty badly.)
 
My friend Joshua tumbled some smaller pieces of the same rock and you can see what it's like when it's polished. If you make a great polished cab from my dad's agate, send me a picture!