Well, yes. And the Bible also "claims" that there were once "trees" that produced fruit capable of imparting the knowledge of good and evil and eternal life.
Are there any allegorical lessons to be gleaned from the the story surrounding these "trees"? Any theological significance to them or to Genesis 3? Or is the Bible just mundanely cataloging a few selected "facts" from the "early days"?
Similarly, is there any allegorical lesson to be learned from the story surrounding Noah? Any moral or theological significance to the tale? Or is it just a yellowing newspaper article from a long time ago?
There is certainly a long tradition in Christian thought regarding the Ark as an allegory of salvation, a tradition that accepts the tale as having continuing metaphoric significance.
Metaphor, parable, and allegory are very powerful literary and theological tools. They are what inspire contemplation and understanding of God, and they are the very backbone of both the Old and New Testaments and the teachings of Christ. To denigrate them, or to substitute illogical literalism for them, is to render the Bible simply a dusty old newspaper, phone book or half-baked atlas.
And the Bible also claims there is a literal heaven. Perhaps it is "just" as "true" as Noah's ark, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life.
Salvation? From what? Evolving? Determinism?