Question
This might be out of your area of expertise,
but I thought that I would give it a try.
There is a large tree that grows along the
Colorado river South of Blyth California. I
have been told by several people that it is
a Tamarisk (Salt Cedar), however, everything
I have read about that tree says it is a small
tree or scrub. This tree has large trunks that
tend to grow almost horizontal and has folage
that looks like it is an evergreen type. The
folage is sort of flat and is a light green
color. It usually has multiple trunks and they
are about 2' thick.

Hope you can help, but if not thanks anyway.

Larry

Answer
tamarisk(salt cedar-type of evergreen) is a shrub that can reach 20+ feet, even though it is usually 8-10' tall. it is normally multi-trunked w/horizontal branches. an older one could have thick trunking. the foliage is light to mid-green. it is a conifer. they grow in riparian areas(normally tidal islands in normal tidal rivers). i live on the delaware river in southern NJ. riparian rights is a big topic along the tidal area of the delaware river. on the colorado river riparian has more to do w/the way rainfall has either occurred or not occurred over seasonal changes. salt cedars grow well in this riparian area because they can tolerate long periods of being submergeed and long periods of droughts. this you may already know if you've read up on them.
how tall is the tree in question? many shrubs can appear tree-like if trained that way. removal of side branches will increase trunk size. like people trees and shrubs grow to many different sizes even though books quote a range. take a branch of the foliage from a shrub size tamarisk and compare it to the tree you have questions about. if the foliage is the same then it is probably a salt cedar. if not than you are dealing w/a different species.
good luck
rick
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