Round Lake National Natural Landmark lies within Green Lakes State Park, which lies a few miles east of the city of Syracuse, New York and adjoining the village of Fayetteville. Round Lake itself and the adjoining 59 acres (24 ha) of old-growth forest were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Hubert W. Vogelmann, a professor of botany at the University of Vermont, wrote the evaluation to the National Park Service that concurred with the recommendation of National Natural Landmark status for the region around Round Lake. Vogelmann's evaluation noted the "outstanding virgin mesophytic forest" adjoining Round Lake on its southwestern side; this text became part of the citation when the landmark was created. Vogelmann also noted Round Lake's importance as an extremely rare, "meromictic" lake.