Abstract: The ecological environment in China’s desert regions is fragile, and water resources are scarce, yet the mining intensity is extremely high. Therefore, studying the shallow damage patterns caused by high-intensity coal mining in desert areas is of great significance. Taking the high-intensity mining of Shaanxi Coal Caojiatan Mine as a case study, this research employs numerical simulation and field testing methods to investigate the subsidence patterns of high-intensity coal mining in desert regions. Based on an understanding of mining-induced damage, soil bulk density and porosity changes in mined subsidence areas were studied through sampling and testing. Results show that field measurements indicate a W-shaped profile formed after large-scale multi-working face mining, with significantly greater subsidence near the initially mined working face (maximum subsidence of 3.39 m, compared to a simulated value of 3.40 m). The minimum subsidence between two working faces was 1.12 m (simulated value: 1.26 m), demonstrating consistency between numerical simulation and field measurements. Soil bulk density decreased as crack width increased, with notable reductions in areas with 20–40 and 60–100 cm crack widths (decreases of 0.08 and 0.07g/cm³, respectively, compared to crack-free zones). Soil bulk density gradually decreased with increasing subsidence depth, showing a certain increase at 0–20 cm subsidence depth but no significant difference at 20–40 and 40–60 cm depths. Soil porosity increased progressively with crack width, varying by 0.5%, –1.2%, 2.3%, and 1.7% for crack widths of 0–20, 20–40, 40–60, and 60–100 cm, respectively. Soil porosity also increased with subsidence depth, showing no significant difference at 0–20 cm depths compared to non-subsided areas but increasing by 5.8% and 9.0% at 20–40 and 40–60 cm depths, respectively. The research provides valuable insights for green mining practices in desert regions of the Yellow River Basin.