The study analyzed how the overburden strata behaves in shallow buried thick seam mining to prevent water burst and sand inrush in a Chinese mining area. By studying a coal mine, researchers found that the overburden strata goes through four stages: gestation, formation, transformation, and stabilization. During the transformation stage, a fracture zone turns into a caving zone, which then moves towards the working face. The cracks in the strata are mainly inclined and horizontal. Understanding this process helps ensure safe and environmentally friendly mining practices on shallow buried thick seams.