What was the first sign Noah received that the floodwaters were receding?

The first sign that the floodwaters were receding was that Noah’s Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat.

Genesis 8:4 says the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. The narrative then says that the waters continued to decrease, and the mountain tops became visible on the first day of the tenth month. Only afterward does Noah send out the raven and the dove.

This sequence matters because popular summaries often begin with the dove and olive leaf. In the actual order of Genesis, the ark’s resting is the first stated indication that the vessel was no longer drifting on rising or covering waters. The birds provide later tests of whether dry ground and vegetation are available.

The passage does not identify one particular mountain peak, and it does not provide a modern date system for the month names. The chronological details are internal to Genesis’s flood account, while the later bird episodes develop the signs of recovery.