diff --git a/src/spatial/mod.rs b/src/spatial/mod.rs
index cdf5c89f4..e14fb6d86 100644
--- a/src/spatial/mod.rs
+++ b/src/spatial/mod.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 //! Spatial module (implements a block kd-tree)
 
 pub mod radix_select;
+pub mod surveyor;
 pub mod triangle;
diff --git a/src/spatial/surveyor.rs b/src/spatial/surveyor.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..390d3913c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/spatial/surveyor.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+//! Dimension analysis for block kd-tree construction.
+//!
+//! Surveys triangle collections to identify the optimal partition dimension by tracking min/max
+//! spreads and common byte prefixes across the four bounding box dimensions. The dimension with
+//! maximum spread is selected for partitioning, and its prefix is used to optimize radix selection
+//! by skipping shared leading bytes.
+use crate::spatial::triangle::Triangle;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+struct Spread {
+    min: i32,
+    max: i32,
+}
+
+impl Spread {
+    fn survey(&mut self, value: i32) {
+        if value < self.min {
+            self.min = value;
+        }
+        if value > self.max {
+            self.max = value;
+        }
+    }
+    fn spread(&self) -> i32 {
+        self.max - self.min
+    }
+}
+
+impl Default for Spread {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Spread {
+            min: i32::MAX,
+            max: i32::MIN,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+struct Prefix {
+    words: Vec<u8>,
+}
+
+impl Prefix {
+    fn prime(value: i32) -> Self {
+        Prefix {
+            words: value.to_be_bytes().to_vec(),
+        }
+    }
+    fn survey(&mut self, value: i32) {
+        let bytes = value.to_be_bytes();
+        while !bytes.starts_with(&self.words) {
+            self.words.pop();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Tracks dimension statistics for block kd-tree partitioning decisions.
+///
+/// Accumulates min/max spreads and common byte prefixes across the four bounding box dimensions
+/// `(min_y, min_x, max_y, max_x)` of a triangle collection. Used during tree construction to
+/// select the optimal partition dimension (maximum spread) and identify shared prefixes for radix
+/// selection optimization.
+pub struct Surveyor {
+    spreads: [Spread; 4],
+    prefixes: [Prefix; 4],
+}
+
+impl Surveyor {
+    /// Creates a new surveyor using an initial triangle to establish byte prefixes.
+    ///
+    /// Prefixes require an initial value to begin comparison, so the first triangle's bounding box
+    /// dimensions seed each prefix. Spreads initialize to defaults and will be updated as
+    /// triangles are surveyed.
+    pub fn new(triangle: &Triangle) -> Self {
+        let mut prefixes = Vec::new();
+        for &value in triangle.bbox() {
+            prefixes.push(Prefix::prime(value));
+        }
+        Surveyor {
+            spreads: [Spread::default(); 4],
+            prefixes: prefixes.try_into().unwrap(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Updates dimension statistics with values from another triangle.
+    ///
+    /// Expands the min/max spread for each bounding box dimension and shrinks prefixes to only the
+    /// bytes shared across all triangles surveyed so far.
+    pub fn survey(&mut self, triangle: &Triangle) {
+        for (i, &value) in triangle.bbox().iter().enumerate() {
+            self.spreads[i].survey(value);
+            self.prefixes[i].survey(value);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the dimension with maximum spread and its common byte prefix.
+    ///
+    /// Selects the optimal bounding box dimension for partitioning by finding which has the
+    /// largest range (max - min). Returns both the dimension index and its prefix for use in radix
+    /// selection.
+    pub fn dimension(&self) -> (usize, &Vec<u8>) {
+        let mut dimension = 0;
+        let mut max_spread = self.spreads[0].spread();
+        for (i, spread) in self.spreads.iter().enumerate().skip(1) {
+            let current_spread = spread.spread();
+            if current_spread > max_spread {
+                dimension = i;
+                max_spread = current_spread;
+            }
+        }
+        (dimension, &self.prefixes[dimension].words)
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::spatial::triangle::Triangle;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn survey_triangles() {
+        let triangles = [
+            Triangle::new(1, [0, 0, 8, 1, 10, 3], [false, false, false]),
+            Triangle::new(1, [0, 0, 0, 11, 9, 0], [false, false, false]),
+            Triangle::new(1, [0, 0, 5, 4, 5, 0], [false, false, false]),
+        ];
+        let mut surveyor = Surveyor::new(&triangles[0]);
+        for triangle in &triangles {
+            surveyor.survey(triangle);
+        }
+        let (dimension, prefix) = surveyor.dimension();
+        assert_eq!(dimension, 3);
+        assert_eq!(prefix.len(), 3);
+    }
+}