What is the difference between a secure tunnel an encrypted access?

So I've been learning a lot about remote access and am a little confused by these terms.

For things like ssh, data transmitted is encrypted so if intercepted a malicious actor wouldn't understand it.

When connecting to a VPN you create a secure tunnel to the network you wish to connect to.

What is the difference here? When i first learned about VPNs i was under the impression that the secure tunnel was the encryption, as trying to look at cars driving through a tunnel from a helicopter would be impossible because the tunnel surrounding them. Likewise trying to look at data traveling through an encrypted tunnel from a man in the middle position would be impossible because of the tunnel (encryption).

So what is the difference between connection here? Obviously ssh and VPNs serve different purposes but do they use the same "tunnels?"