Before the power stations of Reinforsen (1925) and Langvatnet (1964) were built, the catchment area was 3,843 square kilometres (1,484 sq mi).

The part of the Ranelva river between its beginning and its joining with Virvasselva is called Ruovadajåhkå in Lule Sami language.

Southwest of the small village Røssvoll, Ranelva meets the river Langvassåga which empties the lake Langvatnet.

One of the largest salmon tunnels in Norway (385 metres or 1,263 feet long) is located at the Reinforsen waterfall, and was built in 1956.

Ranelva was cleansed with rotenone in 1996, 2004, and 2005 beneath the Sjøforsen waterfall, in order to remove the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris, which was registered there for the first time in 1975.