Genesis 8:11

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“And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.”

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Though all of the flesh upon the earth which drew breath were destroyed, much of the vegetation was left. This is the first and only sign of life that existed outside of the Ark, at this time, right after the flood. The olive branch that the dove brought in its beak was a sign that the waters were much diminished: for the olives do not grow on the high mountains.

The dove, when first sent out, “found no rest for the sole of its foot;” for a dove will only settle upon such places and objects as are dry and clean. It returned to the ark and let Noah take it in again (Genesis 8:8, 9). The second time it returned in the evening, having remained out longer than before, and brought a freshly plucked olive leaf in its mouth. Noah perceived from this that the water must be almost gone, had “abated from off the earth,” though the ground might not be perfectly dry, as the olive tree will put out leaves even under water. The fresh olive leaf was the first sign of the resurrection of the earth to new life after the flood, and the dove with the olive leaf a herald of salvation. The third time it did not return; a sign that the waters had completely receded from the earth.