A nonlinear barotropic model is used to examine the interaction of isolated vortices (i.e. patches of anomalous vorticity bounded by a free streamline) with vertical walls. The round undisturbed vortices are inviscid and contain cyclonic or anticyclonic circulation; they are embedded in a resting, infinitely broad ocean. The interaction is examined by, conceptually, “cutting” the vortices with a vertical wall at, say, t = 0. The resulting events are studied using a perturbation scheme in ε, the nondimensional distance between the wall and the undisturbed edge of the vortices. Analytical solutions for times ofO(f−1) (wherefis the Coriolis parameter) are constructed by applying the integrated momentum and continuity equations.