Ranelva is a long river in the municipality of

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histori ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It is one of the longest rivers in

county. The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the river is . Before the power stations of ''Reinforsen'' (1925) and Langvatnet (1964) were built, the catchment area was .

Path

The river begins on the

Saltfjellet Saltfjellet is a mountain area in Nordland county, Norway that separates the two regions of Helgeland and Salten. It is also a cultural border between the Southern and Central parts of Sápmi. Geography and environment The Saltfjell is one of the ...

plateau, near the border between Norway and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the little rivers ''Randalselva'' ( sma, Goabdesjåhkå) and Gubbeltåga ( smj, Gubbeltædno). The river then flows mainly in a western-southwestern direction. On its way southwestwards, the river is joined by the river

Virvasselva or is a river in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The river flows out of the eastern part of the lake Virvatnet. The stream ''Boneselva'' meets Virvasselva about east of the lake Virvatnet. This is a large, continuous, ver ...

from south. The part of the Ranelva river between its beginning and its joining with

is called ''Ruovadajåhkå'' in

Lule Sami language Lule may refer to: * Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina * Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina * Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway * Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden * Lu ...

. Near ''Storvollen'', the rivers Bjøllåga,

Tespa Tespa (formerly Texas eSports Association) is a North American collegiate esports organization headquartered in the offices of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California. Founded in 2012 as a collegiate gaming club at the University of Texas, A ...

, and Stormdalsåga all join Ranelva from the north and the river

Messingåga or is a long river which flows northwards, ending up as a tributary to the river Ranelva at ''Hjartåsen'' in the small village of Storvoll in the Dunderland Valley in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The river should not ...

joins from the south. It continues in a southwestern direction through the

Dunderland Valley The Dunderland Valley ( no, Dunderlandsdalen, smj, Dunndaravuobme) is a valley in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. It reaches from just below the eastern Saltfjellet plateau about south of the Arctic circle. The mountain ...

. The rivers

Grønfjellåga Grønfjellåga (lit. "the river of the green mountain") is a river in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The long river's source is the lakes Kallvatnet and Kopparvatnet. It then flows through the Grønfjelldalen valley whi ...

and Plura join the Ranelva in this valley. Southwest of the small village

Røssvoll Røssvoll is a village in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The village is about north-east of the town of Mo i Rana. The village is on the north side of the river Ranelva (the village of Skonseng lies on the south side of the ...

, Ranelva meets the river

Langvassåga Langvassåga is a river that flows out of the lake Langvatnet in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. It flows in a southeastern direction and almost immediately, it is joined by the river Røvassåga. It then continues a short ...

which empties the lake Langvatnet. Further down, at

Selfors Selfors is a village in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. Selfors sits on the northern shore of the river Ranelva and it is a northeastern suburb of the town of Mo i Rana. The European route E06 highway passes through the vill ...

, the river

Revelelva Revelelva is the native name of the lowest part of the river Tverråga, which has its outlet in Ranelva in Rana municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The river change its name at the bridge connecting European route E6 with Gruben. Before this ...

(the name of the lowest parts of the river

Tverråga Tverråga is a river in the municipality of Rana in Nordland county, Norway. The river flows from lake Tverrvatnet north until it joins the river Ranelva. The river absorbs seven other rivers during its course, the last one by ''Hamaren'' near ...

) joins the Ranelva. The river Ranelva empties into the

Ranfjorden The Ranfjorden (or just ''Ranfjord'') is a fjord in the Helgeland district of Nordland county, Norway. The largest part of the fjord is in the municipality of Rana, but the fjord also passes through the municipalities of Hemnes, Vefsn, Leirfjord, ...

just south of

Ytteren Ytteren is a village in the municipality of Rana, Norway, Rana in Nordland county, Norway. Ytteren and the neighboring village of Båsmoen are northern suburbs of the town of Mo i Rana. They are both located on the northern edge of the mouth of t ...

Mo i Rana Mo i Rana () is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of the Municipalities of Norway, municipality of Rana, Norway, Rana, in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...

. The river receives water from Storakersvatnet via Rana Hydroelectric Power Station.

Fishing

Ranelva is a popular river for

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. It is very rich with

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. One of the largest salmon tunnels in Norway ( long) is located at the ''Reinforsen'' waterfall, and was built in 1956. Ranelva was cleansed with

rotenone Rotenone is an odorless, colorless, crystalline isoflavone used as a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide, and pesticide. It occurs naturally in the seeds and stems of several plants, such as the jicama vine plant, and the roots of several member ...

in 1996, 2004, and 2005 beneath the ''Sjøforsen''

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

, in order to remove the salmon parasite

Gyrodactylus salaris ''Gyrodactylus salaris'', commonly known as salmon fluke, is a tiny monogenean ectoparasite which lives on the body surface of freshwater fish. This leech-like parasite has been implicated in the reduction of Atlantic salmon populations in the No ...

, which was registered there for the first time in 1975.

Media gallery

Storvoll

File:RanelvaStorvoll01.JPG File:RanelvaStorvoll02.JPG File:RanelvaStorvoll03.JPG File:RanelvaStorvoll04.JPG

Illhøllia

File:RanelvaIllhoellia A.JPG, File:RanelvaIllhoellia B.JPG, File:RanelvaIllhoellia C.JPG, File:RanelvaIllhoellia D.JPG, File:RanelvaIllhoellia E.JPG, File:RanelvaIllhoellia F.JPG,

Reinforsen ("Reindeer waterfall")

File:Ranelva Reinforsen A.JPG, Seen from European route 6, south of Reinforsen File:Ranelva Reinforsen B.JPG, Seen from European route 6, south of Reinforsen

Selfors

File:RanelvaSelfors01.JPG, Ranelva and the bridge on Selfors on the right File:RanelvaSelfors02.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge in the direction of its outlet into

Ranfjord The Ranfjorden (or just ''Ranfjord'') is a fjord in the Helgeland district of Nordland county, Norway. The largest part of the fjord is in the municipality of Rana, but the fjord also passes through the municipalities of Hemnes, Vefsn, Leirfjord, ...

File:RanelvaSelfors03.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge in the direction of its outlet into

File:RanelvaSelfors04.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge. The outlet of

is also seen File:RanelvaSelfors05.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge File:RanelvaSelfors06.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge File:RanelvaSelfors07.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge File:RanelvaSelfors08.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge File:RanelvaSelfors09.JPG, Ranelva seen from Selfors bridge File:RanelvaSelfors10.JPG File:RanelvaSelfors11.JPG File:RanelvaSelfors12.JPG File:RanelvaSelfors13.JPG File:RanelvaSelfors14.JPG File:RanelvaSelfors15.JPG

Fossetangen

File:Fossetangen01.JPG File:Fossetangen02.JPG File:Fossetangen03.JPG File:Fossetangen04.JPG File:Fossetangen05.JPG File:Fossetangen06.JPG File:Fossetangen07.JPG File:Fossetangen08.JPG File:Fossetangen09.JPG File:Fossetangen10.JPG

References

{{authority control Rivers of Nordland Rana, Norway Rivers of Norway