AbstractInstantaneous streamlines, particle pathlines and pressure contours for a cavitation bubble in the vicinity of a free surface and near a rigid boundary are obtained. During the collapse phase of a bubble near a free surface, the streamlines show the existence of a stagnation point between the bubble and the free surface which occurs at a different location from the point of maximum pressure. This phenomenon exists when the initial distance of the bubble is sufficiently close to the free surface for the bubble and free surface to move in opposite directions during collapse of the bubble. Pressure calculations during the collapse of a cavitation bubble near a rigid boundary show that the maximum pressure is substantially larger than the equivalent Rayleigh bubble of the same volume.