DENVER (KDVR) — With the rainfall that the Front Range saw in May and the first part of June, you may expect there to be some consequences.

Vegetation is greener, rivers and creeks are fuller, and, in some places, the earth — or, in many cases, the road — crumbles and creates a giant crater.

Colorado has seen a number of road collapses from sinkholes lately. Most recently, in Parker, when a road had to be closed due to a sinkhole.

What is a sinkhole?

A sinkhole is an area with no natural external surface drainage, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Because of this, when it rains, water has nowhere else to go and will stay inside the sinkhole and typically drain into the rock below.

What is likely causing these recent sinkholes?

Not all sinkholes are caused by the same thing, but the recent sinkholes seen in Colorado have been likely caused by rain and water in general.

According to USGS, rainfall moves down through the soil and can dissolve rock over time, creating underground spaces or caverns.

The land will usually stay intact for a period of time until the underground spaces become too big.

At that point, the material on top — like roads — can’t support its own weight and collapses.

Where are sinkholes most common?

Sinkholes most often occur in what is known as “karst terrain,” where the rock below the land surface can be naturally dissolved by groundwater, according to USGS.

A state that is particularly susceptible to sinkholes — Florida — is largely underlain by limestone, USGS said, which is a rock that dissolves easier than some other types.

Colorado has a few of these regions, primarily in the west and southeastern parts of the state.