It's a long way down!
	These pretty colors and formations were made by tiny fungi and bacteria eating away at the cave walls. Over thousands of years, the cave got bigger and bigger. It's like a worm eating the inside of an apple.
	The scientists have discovered that these tiny life-forms eat minerals from the cave walls like manganese and iron. This life does not use energy from the outside world like the sun or other life. It's like another world of life deep inside our own planet!

The SLIME team has discovered these remains of life in other caves too! Let's look at Carlsbad Cavern.