Noah’s Flood is a representation of the Cretaceous period and includes the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages from the Late Jurassic. During the Cretaceous there were high eustatic sea levels, up to 250 meters (or 820 feet) higher than today. Really this was probably the highest ever with no glaciers in the polar regions. This is approximately the same level as the upper northern region of Mesopotamia where there is an average elevation between 200-300 meters above sea level – these would be the “high hills” that were covered by 15 cubits (about 7 meters) . At this same time, North America was divided by the Western Interior Seaway. So this is really a local flood on a global scale.
After the initial 40 days of rain (Gen 7:4), the flood waters are said to have prevailed for 150 days (Gen 7:24) before the Ark came to rest on the foothills of Ararat. The waters would have increased to its highest level somewhere within the 150 days before decreasing again. After the Arc came to rest, Noah then waited another 40 days (Gen 8:6), sent a raven (more on that later) and a dove out and the dove couldn’t find a place for its foot. Noah waits another 7 days (Gen 8:10) and sends the dove out again who found an olive leaf (btw, fruit bearing plants evolved during the Cretaceous period), then sent the dove again in 7 more days (Gen 8:12) before the ground is found to be dry. The ground may have been dry somewhere between when Noah sends the dove out the third time and does not return. Lets say this is mid week or 3 days later. So we have a total of 240 days (40+150+40+7+3) of total flooding.
There are examples like in Ezekiel where a day is symbolic of a year, the day-year principle for judgement periods. So we can view this as 240 years instead of days. Based on 2 Peter 3:8, each day of these 240 years is then 1,000 years so its approx. 88 million years (240 x 365 x 1000). The number 8 in biblical numerics represents new beginnings.
Noah’s name means ‘rest or repose of nature’ and represents our common decent with all Tetrapods about 373 mya. Noah was 600 (or 602) years old when the flood began which brings us to the beginning of the Kimmeridgian age (600 x 365 x 1000 = 219 mya), (373 - 219 = 154 mya) The Flood then lasted for 88 million years which brings its conclusion to 66 mya (154 - 88) where we have a very famous major extinction event (Noah is now 840 (or 842) years old).
The raven that flies back and forth until the waters are dried (not just dry but the ground is parched) represents the shrouded skies after the meteor impact (on the opposite side of the planet).
– raven: (6158. עֹרֵב oreb) raven (from its dusky hue); from arab (6150. עָרַב arab) close, evening, turns to gloom
The Ark is made of ‘gopher’ wood. Hebrews scholars don’t know what gopher wood is but there is some sense that it may mean wood that is processed, like particle board made of wood chips or saw-‘dust’. If we see this as an English word, a ‘gopher’ is well known to be a burrowing animal.
The Ark could represent a burrow built by Noah (tetrapods). The ‘wood’ is the structural support for the Ark and in the case of a burrow, this would be the ground/earth (naturally processed wood/plant matter). Small animals can survive a natural disaster like a ‘flood’ in a burrow. They will dig down and create a sump to collect any water that seeps in so their living quarters can stay dry. When it rains they will plug the opening, represented by the ‘window’ of the Ark.
And according to AI Overview:
burrowing animals frequently share their burrows with other species, a phenomenon that can involve complex ecological relationships like mutualism and commensalism. Burrow builders are often considered “ecosystem engineers” because their activities create habitats that numerous other creatures can utilize for shelter, safety, and resources.
As the flooding increases over millions of years, the burrow(s) move to higher ground with it. Small animals are able to survive these floods (other natural disasters like a meteor impact), but the target of the ‘flood’ which are the ‘giants’ or ‘nephilim’ (the dinosaurs) are doomed.