The Langvann Valley extends toward the massif along a northwest–southeast axis,[2] through which the Sjønstå River (Norwegian: Sjønståelva, known as the Langvasselva in its upper course) flows, forming the Sulitjelma watercourse.

239A marks the border between Norway and Sweden and stands on the ridge between Suliskongen and Svenska Stortoppen, at an elevation of 1,669 meters (5,476 ft).

However, the natural conditions of the valley make it difficult to access, and in earlier times few people other than Sami were familiar with this mountainous region.

[5]: 137 It is believed that the first settler to cultivate the land at Langvatnet (Long Lake) was Anders Larsen from the Svartvassheia farm in Nord-Rana Municipality.

Firewood was floated down the Sjønstå River and transported further by rowboat to traders at Skjerstad Fjord, which provided income to the settlers.

In 1875 about 50 people lived in Sulitjelma, and around that time mountain tourists started coming not only from Norway but also Sweden, England, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the United States.

The engineer Alfred Hasselbom at Sulitjelma Mines arranged for translations of descriptions of the area's mountain routes into English, German, French, and Spanish.

[9] In the summer of 1807, Göran Wahlenberg, a Swedish naturalist and a professor at Uppsala University, carried out observations and surveys in Salten and on the Sulitjelma massif.

Carl Linnaeus's journey to Salten more or less followed Wahlenberg's earlier route, via Kvikkjokk to Virihaure and then to the north of today's Rago National Park and down to Leir Fjord in Sørfold Municipality.

He traveled to Sulitjelma in August 1868, and he gave detailed descriptions of its botany, as well as the natural environment in general, the Sami, and how the people on the newly cleared farms in the Langvann Valley made a living.