Final answer:
The Spanish indeed explored and settled as far north as Colorado and San Francisco, California during the colonial period; thus, the statement is true.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that Spanish exploration and settlement reached as far north as Colorado and San Francisco, California during the colonial period is (A) True. Spanish colonial expansion in North America went beyond Mexico and extended into what is now the United States, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The Spanish established outposts and pursued their objectives of converting Native Americans to Catholicism, searching for riches, and imposing a social order based on Spanish control, though not all their ambitions were fully realized.