RanfjordenIn English this means ''the Ran fjord''; the ''-en'' in the full name is a suffix meaning 'the' in Norwegian. is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord (also spelled fiord in New Zealand English; ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounding landmasses of the n ...

in the

Helgeland Helgeland is the most southerly Districts of Norway, district in Northern Norway. Generally speaking, Helgeland refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle. It is bordered in the north by the Saltfjellet moun ...

district of

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The largest part of the fjord is in

Rana Municipality or is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mo i Rana, which houses the National Library of Norway. Other population centers in R ...

, but the fjord also passes through the municipalities of

Hemnes Hemnes may refer to: * Hemnes, Akershus, a village in Aurskog-Høland Municipality in Akershus county, Norway *Hemnes Municipality Hemnes is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is p ...

Vefsn Vefsn () is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn include Drev ...

Leirfjord Leirfjord or Leirfjorden may refer to: Places * Leirfjord Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Leirfjorden, a fjord in Alstahaug Municipality and Leirfjord Municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Leirfjord Church, a church in ...

, Nesna, and Dønna. The

Ranelva Ranelva is a long river in Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is one of the longest rivers in Nordland county. The catchment area of the river is . Before the power stations of ''Reinforsen'' (1925) and Langvatnet (1964) were bui ...

river meets the Ranfjord in at the town of

Mo i Rana (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ) or (and unofficially , ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city, and the administrative centre of Rana Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the Helgeland region of Nordland, just sou ...

at the innermost part of the fjord. It then flows to the west for about to where it meets the sea along the border of

Dønna Municipality Dønna is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland region. The administrative centre of the island municipality is the village of Solfjellsjøen. Other villages include Bjørn, Dønnes, Hestad, Sandåker, and V ...

and

Nesna Municipality Nesna is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Nesna (village), v ...

. The inner part of the fjord is lush, forested, and more heavily populated. The western parts of the fjord are narrow with steep sides and that area has few inhabitants. There is a narrow

strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...

that connects to the Sørfjorden and Elsfjorden at the village of

Hemnesberget Hemnesberget is a village in Hemnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the Hemnes peninsula which lies on the south side of the Ranfjorden. Hemnes Church is located in this village. The village has a population (2024) of ...

. Two large rivers flow into the fjord:

and Røssåga. The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway follows the part of the southern coast of the fjord on its way to

Gallery

File:Ranfjorden utløp.JPG, The mouth of Ranfjorden in

File:Beginning of Ranfjord B.JPG, Near Ytteren in Rana File:Kvitbergan 08.JPG, Kvitbergan, with Ranfjorden in the background File:Ranfjorden north 05.JPG, View between Båsmoen and Alteren in Rana File:Ranfjorden.JPG, Eastward view into Ranfjorden File:Moholmen 20070416 24.jpg, View from Ranfjorden of Moholmen, the oldest part of Mo i Rana.

References

Fjords of Nordland Rana, Norway Hemnes Vefsn Leirfjord Nesna Dønna {{Nordland-geo-stub