According to Genesis, what did Noah do when he first saw dry ground after the Flood?

According to Genesis, Noah removed the Ark’s covering when he first saw that the ground was dry.

Genesis 8:13 says that in Noah’s 601st year, on the first day of the first month, the waters had dried from the earth. Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked out, seeing that the surface of the ground was dry. The story then says the earth became dry by the twenty-seventh day of the second month, after which God told Noah to leave.

This action is distinct from opening the ark’s window earlier. Noah had already sent out a raven and doves to test the condition of the land, but Genesis later specifically records him removing the covering and observing the dry ground.

The chronology also shows that the end of the Flood was gradual rather than a single instant. The text gives dates for the receding waters, Noah’s inspection, and the family’s eventual departure.