<P> Coordinates: 50 ° 02 ′ N 5 ° 11 ′ W ﻿ / ﻿ 50.033 ° N 5.183 ° W ﻿ / 50.033; - 5.183 </P> <P> The Lizard (Cornish: An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom . The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at grid reference SW 701115 . Lizard village is the most southerly on the British mainland, and is in the civil parish of Landewednack, the most southerly parish . The valleys of the River Helford and Loe Pool form the northern boundary, with the rest of the peninsula surrounded by sea . The area measures about 14 by 14 miles (23 km × 23 km). The Lizard is one of England's natural regions and has been designated as national character area 157 by Natural England . The peninsula is known for its geology and for its rare plants and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park . </P> <P> The name "Lizard" is most probably a corruption of the Cornish name "Lys Ardh", meaning "high court"; it is purely coincidental that much of the peninsula is composed of a rock called serpentinite . The Lizard peninsula's original name may have been the Celtic name "Predannack" ("British one"); during the Iron Age (Pytheas c. 325 BC) and Roman period, Britain was known as Pretannike (in Greek) and as Albion (and Britons the "Pretani"). </P> <P> The Lizard's coast is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round the peninsula were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships" (see below). The Lizard Lighthouse was built at Lizard Point in 1752 and the RNLI operates The Lizard lifeboat station . </P>

Why is the lizard in cornwall called the lizard