In Genesis, what was Noah's first action after the floodwaters had dried from the earth?

In Genesis, Noah's first recorded action after the ground had dried was to remove the Ark's covering.

Genesis 8:13 says that, in Noah's 601st year, on the first day of the first month, he removed the covering of the Ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. This occurs before God tells Noah to leave the Ark. The sequence therefore separates Noah's inspection of the earth from his eventual departure.

The detail is easy to confuse with the earlier moment when Noah saw that the ground had become dry, or with the later command to exit the vessel. Genesis presents a staged ending: the covering is removed, God gives instructions, Noah and the animals leave, and Noah builds an altar. The verse provides a precise chronological marker within the flood narrative.