Rana, Norway

Infobox_Kommune
name=Rana
county=Nordland
idnumber=1833
landscape=Helgeland
capital=Mo i Rana
governor=Geir Waage (Ap)
governor_as_of=2005
arearank=4
area=4460
arealand=4206
areapercent=1.38
population_as_of=2004
populationrank=32
population=25309
populationpercent=0.55
populationdensity=6
populationincrease=1.2
language=Neutral
lat_deg=66| lat_min=22| lat_sec=19| lon_deg=14| lon_min=20| lon_sec=34
utm_zone=33W| utm_northing=7361554 |utm_easting=0470618| geo_cat=adm2nd

munwebpage=www.rana.kommune.no

Rana is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway.

The old municipality of Rana was divided into Mo (until 1844 named "Nord-Rana") and Hemnes (until 1844 named "Sør-Rana") in 1839. The village of Mo (see Mo i Rana) was separated from the rural district as a town and municipality of its own January 1, 1923 - and the rural district then changed the name back to Nord-Rana. The town of Mo was again merged with Nord-Rana January 1, 1964 - and the united municipality then changed the name to "Rana".

The municipality is the third most populous in the region North Norway. By area, Rana is the largest municipality in Norway south of Finnmark, taking in large areas of mountains and forested valleys. Mo i Rana houses the National Library of Norway.

The name

The district is named after the river Ranelva (Norse "Raðund"). The name of the river is probably derived from the word "raðr" 'quick, fast, rapid'.

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1960). The colours represent the woods (green) and the minerals (gold) of the municipality.

Geography and nature

The municipality is located just south of the Arctic circle, on the southern side of the Saltfjellet mountains with the Svartisen glacier, Norway's second largest glacier. Mo is so close to the Arctic Circle that parts of the sun is continuously over the horizon (Midnight sun) from early June to early July, and there is no darkness from mid-May to the beginning of August ( [http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/mo-i-rana.html ] ). The Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park is partly located in Rana. There are many valleys, the longest is Dunderlandsdal. The majority of the population in the municipality lives in Mo i Rana, where the Ranelva (river) meets the Ranfjord. North of the Mo i Rana, European route E6 pass through the urban district of Selfors. Rana and Saltfjellet is famous for its numerous caves due to the limestone rock. There are several nature reserves in the municipality, such as Alterhaug with several warmth loving plants including elm ( [http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1524#7476 ] ), Engasjyen, the estuary of the Rana river with its rich bird life in spring ( [http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1557#7900 ] ), Blakkådalen with old growth spruce forest ( [http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1535#7561 ] ) and Fisktjørna, with largely undisturbed mixed old growth forest with unusually rich plant life due to the extremely lime rich soil ( [http://nordland.miljostatus.no/msf_themepage.aspx?m=1562#8294 ] ). There are many lakes in the municipality, both in the lowlands and in the mountains.

Lakes

*Raudvatnet

Rivers

*Ranelva
*Virvasselva
*Messingåga
*Grønfjellåga
*Plura
*Langvassåga
*Tverråga
*Revelelva

Culture

* Havmannen, sculpture made by Antony Gormley 1995, part of Artscape Nordland.
* Havmanndagene, annual multi-cultural festival, first week-end of May.
* Nordland Teater, regional drama theatre for Nordland County.
* Vikafestivalen, annual pop and rock music festival.
* Nordland County library.
* National Library of Norway.

ister cities

The sister cities of Rana are:
*flagicon|Russia Petrozavodsk, Karelia

ee also

* Andfiskvatnet

External links

* [http://www.arctic-circle.no/english_index.htm Official tourist information about the Arctic Circle area (english)]
* [http://www.ranaturistforening.no/hytter.php DNT Rana: Mountain lodges in Rana] Norwegian, with pictures
* [http://www.rana.kommune.no/ Rana municipality (kommune) web pages]