LOL, Phil, I missed the fact that you're English, and went looking for a creek in Essex, Mass. I found one! I forgot that waterways through tidal marshes are called creeks, though they're rarely named. Wikipedia confirms this.. Walker Creek in Essex is one of those.

Meanwhile, i missed Otter Creek in Vermont. It would seem totally misnamed, since it's one of the largest rivers in Vermont (Vermont is bordered by two very large rivers, the Hudson and the Connecticut, but internal rivers are pretty small). Otter Creek was apparently also called Otter Kill in the past, and it was important in shipping troops during the various wars in the 18th century. Perhaps it was named by seamen who thought it looked like a tidal creek where it entered Lake Champlain.