Rawhiti Cave become increasingly finer deeper down into the cave. A short walking track leads halfway down into the cavernous opening to a viewing platform. The diverse twilight-zone flora near the entrance of Rawhiti Cave makes this cave nationally significant. Over long periods of time, plant growth on the cave formations causes them to grow towards the sunlight as more calcium carbonate is deposited regularly on top of the plant growth. This phenomenon, called phytokarst, is most evident on the larger stalactites near the cave entrance, which are strongly curved outwards due to the heavy moss and fern growth on their sunlit
Cave-in the surface. However, roof falls in mining are not all accidental. In longwall mining and retreat mining, miners systematically remove all support from under large areas of the mine roof, allowing it to settle just beyond the work area. The goal in such mining methods is not to prevent roof fall and the ensuing surface subsidence, but rather to control it. Cave-in A cave-in is a collapse of a geologic formation, mine or structure which may occur during mining or tunneling. Geologic structures prone to spontaneous cave-ins include alvar, tsingy and other limestone formations, but can also include lava tubes